NEW DELHI: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have been allowed to travel to Uttar Pradesh's Hathras and meet the family of the 20-year-old Dalit woman who was allegedly gang raped and murdered last month - and whose body was then cremated in a secretive ceremony at 2.30 am - in a savage crime that has shocked the nation.

This was the Congress leaders' second attempt to reach Hathras - the first, on Thursday, ended in a tussle with cops who refused to let Mr Gandhi pass, citing orders banning large gatherings amid coronavirus concerns, and shoved him to the ground in the chaos that followed.

A similarly dramatic face-off seemed in store today as Mr Gandhi and Mrs Gandhi Vadra set off from Delhi at around 2.30 pm in a silver Toyota Innova that Mrs Gandhi Vadra was driving. Their convoy consisted of around 30 Congress MPs, including Shashi Tharoor.

"Nothing in the world can stop me from going to Hathras to meet this unhappy family to share their pain," Mr Gandhi tweeted this morning before leaving. Mrs Gandhi Vadra told news agency ANI: "If not this time, then we will try again".

Meanwhile, a massive force of around 200 cops - some in riot gear and wielding lathis - was deployed at the toll plaza along the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) Flyover with definite instructions - do not allow Congress leaders to cross the border.

Visuals shared online by ANI showed huge numbers of cops and metal barricades, leading many to question where the cops were when needed to deal with crimes against women in the state.

In a slightly anti-climatic moment, however, a UP government that has been severely criticised for its handling of this tragic case - including its treatment of the young woman's traumatised family, whom they allegedly locked up in their homes - seemed to give in to the pressure and allowed Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and two others - KC Venugopal and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury - to cross.

The government had previously insisted that large gatherings - such as those of the Congress delegation - were not allowed in line with Covid management guidelines. These orders prohibit people from travelling in groups of more than five.

"They are violating Section 144 (orders banning large gatherings). We are deployed here to control the unlawful assembling of people. We are appealing for peace amid the COVID-19 outbreak," Ranvijay Singh, the Noida Additional DCP, told ANI this morning, before the Gandhis' arrival.

Meanwhile, top officials from the UP government and police, including DGP HC Awasthy and Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi went to Hathras today to speak to the family, and the media were allowed to enter the village after a 48-hour ban that invited further criticism.

This was the first visit by high-ranking officials of the government and police since the alleged gang rape that took place on September 14.

The ruling BJP, which is under pressure over its handling of the Hathras tragedy and its apparent inability to prevent horrific crimes against women - at least two more rapes have been reported from the state since then - had earlier dismissed the Congress's protests as a "political stunt".

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, whose resignation has been demanded by activists and the opposition, made a declaration of his government's commitment on Friday. "Those who even think of harming mothers and daughters in UP, their destruction is assured," he tweeted in Hindi.

Furious protests against the police and the government have been staged across the country, including one in national capital Delhi on Friday, where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made an appearance and demanded that the four accused be executed.

The Allahabad High Court has taken notice of the case and has summoned top officials of the government and police to appear before it on October 12.

In its notice, the court said the matter was of "immense public importance... involves allegation of high-handedness by state authorities, resulting in violation of basic human and fundamental rights".