Uttar Pradesh Govt rubbishes Rahul's claims, says no human bones found in Greater Noida

Lucknow/New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh government has rubbished the Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's claims of atrocities on protesting villagers in greater Noida's Bhatt and Parsaul villages.

Addressing a press conference, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar said, "All allegations, especially on rape, are absolutely baseless. Even the forensics report has clarified that there were no human remains or bones."

He said only four people died in the violence.

Last week, Mr Gandhi sneaked past an extensive network of UP policemen into Parsaul-Bhatta early in the morning and met some protesting farmers who were demanding adequate compensation for their lands taken away by the state government for developing the Greater Noida Expressway.

Rahul had attacked the Uttar Pradesh government and led a delegation of farmers from these villages to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to complain against police "brutalities".

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"74 stacks of hay were set on fire. There were bones in them. Women too were raped," Mr Gandhi had said.

His remarks that women were raped and men were burnt to death had triggered a political controversy with the Congress going into damage control. Party spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi later said that Rahul had been misquoted by the media.

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