BJP leader’s son among 3 held for woman’s gang-rape in Madhya Pradesh

PTI, Jul 16, 2023, 3:52 PM IST

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Datia district unit head on Sunday said appropriate action will be taken if a 19-year-old victim of gang-rape in her police statement names the son of a local party functionary as being involved in the crime.

The woman was allegedly abducted and raped by four persons in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district on Friday afternoon, after which the victim tried to end her life, police earlier said.

The police have so far arrested one of the accused, an adult, and detained two minors while the search is on for one more accused in the case, Unav police station in-charge Yadvendra Singh Gurjar on Sunday.

A reward of Rs 10,000 has been announced on the absconding accused, he said.

Those nabbed so far include a local BJP functionary’s minor son, whose name has figured in the First Information Report (FIR) registered in the case.

Asked about it, BJP’s district president Surendra Budholia said the incident was unfortunate and the police were yet to record the victim’s statement.

If the victim takes the name of the BJP office-bearer’s son in her statement to the police, then the party will serve a notice to him (local functionary). The party will then take further action, Budholia said.

After the incident, a police complaint was lodged by the victim’s younger sister.

“The complainant said she and her elder sister were abducted by four persons. The accused took them to a house, where they raped her elder sister,” Superintendent of Police Pradeep Sharma said on Saturday.

Following the incident, the victim and her younger sister returned home, where the victim tried to commit suicide, he said.

The woman was later admitted to a hospital in Jhansi in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, Sharma said.

As per the FIR, the accused also sexually abused the complainant, he said.

After the incident, a large number of people staged a protest at the police station, following which the police registered a case.

The people were pacified and a copy of the FIR was given to them, he said.

The accused were booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 376 D (gangrape), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 342 (wrongful confinement) and sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Sharma had said.