Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi's destination was not made clear till the very last minute. The Congress General Secretary visited Lakhimpur Kheri, a three-hour drive from Lucknow and spent a little over an hour with the family whose teen daughter was found hanging at a police station earlier this month. Her parents say she was raped, then killed. The post-mortem reports do not establish that she was sexually assaulted. A series of rapes this month have forced Chief Minister Mayawati to confront accusations that her government and police force are failing women in UP. She has not visited this family. Uttar Pradesh votes next year, and political parties led protest marches in Lucknow this week to highlight the weaknesses in Mayawati's governance. Mr Gandhi also visited the police station where the teen was discovered hanging from a tree by her own dupatta. Referring to the victim as a "bacchi" or child, he said, "The police station is meant to be where justice is delivered to people. Instead, it's where a young girl was killed." He said he supports the demand for a CBI inquiry, made by the victim's mother, on the ground that the UP Police will not conduct an honest investigation against its own men. The girl's mother, Tarannum, later told the media: "I do not have any confidence or hope that I would get justice in UP. I am not seeking justice not just for my daughter but I am fighting for securing justice and a sense of security for all women in UP." The police had originally tried to intimidate the victim's family when they asked for a formal complaint of murder to be registered. Accept it as a suicide, they had said, to the girl's parents.After severe criticism and media coverage, eleven policemen and the three doctors who conducted the first autopsy were suspended. Mayawati has so far said that a CBI inquiry is not needed. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Uttar Pradesh Police is handling the case.
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