Amid the rising political row over the Hathras incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath slammed the opposition for doing politics over the “dead bodies of the poor” and asserted that his government will identify such people and deal with them “with a heavy hand”. 

“The faces of those doing politics on the dead bodies of the poor are getting exposed and the government will identify each one of them and deal with them with a heavy hand as per the law of the land,” CM Yogi said at a virtual meeting with the BJP office-bearers of the Bangarmau (Unnao) Assembly constituency, which goes to bye-elections on November 3.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister also ordered to send two ADG and DIG level special officers in Hathras district on Wednesday to maintain law and order situation in the area.

Hathras has been in the news since the alleged gang-rape and death of a a 19-year-old Dalit woman few days ago. According to victim’s family, she was raped by four men from the village on September 14. The victim died at Delhi’s Safardajung Hospital few days ago, sparking protests across the country. The deceased was also cremated in the dead of the night by Uttar Pradesh police without the consent of the family.

Earlier on Tuesday, CM Yogi Adityanath had claimed that the protests over Hathras incident were planned by the Congress and other Opposition parties in order to malign the reputation of BJP-led government in the state. 

“These are the ones for whom the poor have just been a vote bank and poverty alleviation is just another rhetorical political slogan with no heart for their uplift,” the chief minister said.