New Delhi, 27 April (H.S.):

The Congress has announced that it will send a 21‑member delegation to Ghazipur district in Uttar Pradesh to meet the family of a young woman from the Vishwakarma (OBC) community whose suspicious death has sparked outrage and political debate. The party has also formally requested the District Police Chief (SP), Ghazipur, to ensure adequate security arrangements for the visit, which is scheduled for April 27.

The delegation will be led by Dr. Anil Jaihind, President of the All‑India Congress Committee (AICC) OBC Department, who has written to the SP Ghazipur seeking safe passage for the team. The group plans to reach Ghazipur on April 27, inspect the site of the incident, and hold discussions with the victim’s family and local residents.

The delegation will include Rajendra Pal Gautam, Ajay Kumar Lallu, Subhashini Bundela, Jitendra Baghel, Lok Sabha MP Tanu Jain Puniya, Lok Sabha MP Rakesh Rathore, Rajya Sabha member Karmveer Singh Bauddh, Manoj Yadav, MLA Veerendra Chaudhary, and former MP Ravi Prakash Verma, among others. Some members are scheduled to fly from Delhi to Varanasi on the same day and return in the night, underscoring the party’s effort to coordinate the visit efficiently while keeping political visibility high.

The visit comes amid mounting controversy over the death of a teenage girl from the Katariya village area in Ghazipur, whose body was found in the Ganga river on April 15. The family has alleged sexual assault and murder, and the case has triggered protests and political scrutiny, with the state government later imposing prohibitory orders and restricting entry to the victim’s village in the name of law and order.

In this charged environment, the Congress has framed its delegation visit as a fact‑finding mission and a show of solidarity with the victim’s family, while the district administration is being asked to provide security and safe‑entry protocols so that the delegation can meet the family without incident, in line with the party’s written appeal to the SP Ghazipur.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar