A second summons was issued against former BJP MLA Jayanti Bhanushali in connection with a rape case filed against him by a 21-year-old woman, police said, on Thursday, 26 July. Surat Police Commissioner Satish Sharma said that the second summons was issued after Bhanushali (53) failed to respond to the first one issued on 23 July under section 160 of the CrPC.
"We are trying to locate him. Investigation into the case is on," Sharma said. Another official said that the second summons, asking the former BJP MLA to appear before Sarthana police in Surat, had been sent to his residence in Ahmedabad.
He informed that police needed to record Bhanushali's statement and also subject him to a medical examination as part of the investigations into the rape case. Sharma said that a new Investigating Officer would soon be appointed for the case since the current IO, Zone IV deputy commissioner of police Leena Patil, had been transferred to Panchmahal as its Superintendent of Police.
The Case so Far
On 19 July, an FIR was lodged against Bhanushali for allegedly raping a 21-year-old woman on the pretext of securing admission for her in a reputed fashion designing college. In her complaint, the victim had alleged that Bhanushali raped her on several occasions between November 2017 and March 2018.
He has been charged under sections 376 (2) (public servant committing rape), 506(2) (criminal intimidation), 420 (cheating), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 465 (forgery), among others, of the Indian Penal Code.
Bhanushali, who was the BJP MLA from Abdasa Assembly seat between 2007 and 2012, had tendered his resignation as state BJP vice-president in the wake of the rape allegations.
The Congress Calls it Internal Squabble
The opposition Congress today claimed the rape case filed against former Gujarat BJP vice-president Jayanti Bhanushali is the "fallout" of "infighting" within the saffron party.
Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly Paresh Dhanani said the BJP government had failed to provide a sense of security to the women in the state. "I demand strict action against anyone who commits such crimes against women by sitting at high positions. The BJP government has failed to give security to women despite the fact that such cases are surfacing at regular intervals," Dhanani told reporters in Gandhinagar.
He said, "I believe that this latest incident of rape has surfaced because of the ongoing infighting within the ruling BJP". Bhanushali had represented Abdasa constituency in Kutch district between 2007 and 2012.
Rape Survivor’s Husband Calls Her an Extortionist
Meanwhile, BJP leader from Kutch district and former MLA Chhabil Patel today criticised Bhanushali for "indulging in such activity despite acquiring a high position in the party".
A man claiming to be the former husband of the rape victim claimed that she was part of a gang involved in extorting money from politicians by making their obscene video clips. While addressing reporters earlier this week, the man alleged that his former wife had "honey trapped" around 70 to 80 people so far. He alleged that former BJP MLA from Abdasa Chhabil Patel had asked him to divorce the woman a few years back.
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