Congress President Rahul Gandhi, on Monday, 9 April, hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Uttar Pradesh over the death of the father of an alleged gang-rape victim, after he was taken into custody by the state police. This while an MLA of the ruling party, who had been accused of the rape, was still roaming free.
Gandhi also took a dig at the BJP's "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" slogan in support of the girl child.
“Save the girl, get yourself killed. A young girl accuses a BJP MLA of rape. The police, instead of arresting the MLA, take the girl’s father into custody. Immediately after that he dies in police custody. Meanwhile, the accused MLA is still moving around freely”, the Congress president tweeted in Hindi.
He also shared the link of a news article about the death of the father of the alleged rape victim, who had attempted self-immolation outside Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's residence on Sunday, 8 April.
Earlier, Congress communications in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala had also termed the incident “gruesome and barbaric” and alleged that a "goonda raj" prevailed in the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh.
“Gruesome & barbaric! Humanity gets shamed as the rape victim attempts suicide & her father is beaten & dies in police custody. Instead of arresting criminals, victims are arrested by U.P BJP Govt. ‘Goonda Raj’ prevails in U.P, justice held to ransom as BJP leaders run a-mock (sic)”, he had said on Twitter.
The father of the 18-year-old woman, who had alleged rape by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his brothers, died in custody at Unnao in Uttar Pradesh on Monday.
Sengar, the MLA from Bangermau in Unnao district, rejected the charge and alleged a conspiracy by his political opponents to tarnish his image.
(With inputs from PTI)
Why Are UP's Women Not Safe?: Akhilesh Yadav Slams Yogi Government
Attacking the BJP government, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said in a tweet, "In (UP) state a girl, going for coaching classes is being shot dead...Another girl accusing BJP MLA of gangrape tried to immolate herself in front of CM's residence after disappointment from the government. Is this fear of government of 'encounter' that instead of criminals, woman are getting terrified?"
Congress spokesman Dwijendra Tripathi said, "The death inside a jail is mysterious. Had the government and the administration not worked under the pressure of the BJP MLA, the death could have been avoided. We demand a high-level probe into the matter and security to the rape victim."
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