Rahul Gandhi on Friday visited the home of a Dalit who was lynched in Uttar Pradesh despite invoking the Congress leader’s name to try and save himself, and alleged the government had confined and intimidated the family and tried to prevent them meeting him.

“Dalits are being raped and murdered across the country,” Rahul said. “I want to tell the CM to ensure justice and respect for them. Don’t try to protect the criminals.”

However, videos circulated by the BJP appeared to show the victim’s brother and sister declaring their satisfaction with the government investigation and the help provided to the family.

Asked about this, victim Hari Om Valmiki’s father Ganga Deen told reporters he didn’t want to “get into this”.

Valmiki’s mother Kevala Devi said the family was “not satisfied with the government’s actions” against the suspects, who were “enjoying every facility in jail”.

Valmiki, 38, was accused of being a “drone thief” and beaten to death by a mob in Ishwardaspur village of Rae Bareli district on October 1 night.

A video suggests that when Valmiki claimed he knew Rahul Gandhi, the attackers turned even more violent saying “we belong to Baba” – a moniker often used for the saffron-clad chief minister Yogi Adityanath by his supporters.

“This family didn’t commit any crime. A crime was committed against them. But they are being treated as criminals,” Rahul told reporters after a half-hour meeting with Valmiki’s family in Taravati village, Fatehpur district.

“They have been confined to their house and asked (by government officials) to suppress their pain and grief. All they want is justice, but the government is intimidating them and not allowing them to go out even for medical needs.”

Six people were arrested four days after the incident, and the government has suspended a sub-inspector and two constables amid allegations that the lynching took place in the presence of police.

On Friday, the BJP plastered Rahul’s 50km route from Kanpur’s Chakeri airport to Valmiki’s village with posters saying “Go back, Rahul Gandhi” and “Don’t exploit their pain, go back”. BJP supporters lined the road, chanting slogans against him.

The police stopped Rahul’s convoy in Fatehpur and told him the family had refused to meet him. But a Congress member quickly connected the police to Valmiki’s father, who said Rahul was welcome to his home.

Asked about this, Rahul later said: “You all saw how the family sat with me for half an hour and shared their pain. Some government officers had met them in the morning and threatened them with dire consequences if they allowed my entry into their house. Still, they welcomed me.”

Congress members shared pictures of Rahul hugging members of the family. One of the pictures showed Valmiki’s mother Kevala Devi putting her head in Rahul’s lap and crying.

After Rahul had left, Kevala Devi told reporters: “My son was tortured and killed. Those who committed the crime don’t look like normal people. They are hardcore criminals. We are not satisfied with the government’s actions against them.”

She complained: “They were initially not charged with murder. The murder charge was added only when the media raised the issue. We have heard that the killers are enjoying every facility in jail. I want the government to ensure a speedy trial and the harshest punishment to the criminals.”

One of the videos circulated by the BJP shows Valmiki’s younger brother Shivam standing alongside a group of unknown people. He appears to say: “Two cabinet ministers came to our house and helped us financially. I am satisfied with the government’s actions. Rahul Gandhi and other politicians shouldn’t come to my house.”

In another video, Valmiki’s younger sister Kusum purportedly says: “The government gave me a joining letter as staff nurse at the Amar Shaheed Medical College, Fatehpur. I am happy.”

A government source told this newspaper the family had received ₹5 lakh from the administration and an equal amount from some BJP leaders.

“An outsourcing company that supplies paramedical staff on an annual contract to the medical college hospital has given Kusum a job at the government’s suggestion,” the source said.

State police have been investigating allegations that many people are using drones to carry out recces of homes to commit crimes, or are breaching households’ privacy.

Questioned by the police, some suspects have apparently claimed their drones had been stolen, thus shifting the blame on “drone thieves”. Valmiki’s attackers seem to have used this as an excuse to assault him.