NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court asked Uttar Pradesh (UP) minister Azam Khan to tender unconditional apology for his alleged remarks on Bulandshahr gangrape case.
The apex court also sought Attorney General's assistance in dealing with statements of persons holding public offices in cases such as rape and molestation.
The court asked the UP government to ensure admission of the gangrape victim in a nearby central school. It also directed the UP government to bear the expenses incurred on the victim's admission and education.
Azam Khan’s statement that that the Bulandshahar highway rape case could be a ‘political conspiracy to malign the image of the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh’, in August 2016, had led to a huge public outcry in the state.
A 13-year-old girl and her mother were dragged out of their car and raped by a group of assailants in a field while the victims along with their family were travelling from Noida to Shahjahanpur on the intervening night of July 29-30.
The case was transferred to CBI on the instructions of the Allahabad High Court. The agency had registered a case on August 18 and sent a team of forensic experts and a DIG-ranked officer to the crime scene.
UP Police, which had earlier received flak from the Allahabad High Court, had solved the blind case within nine days of the incident with arrest of Salim Bawariya, the head of a gang from Rajasthan.
On the basis of his interrogation, two other gang members -- Zuber and Sajid -- were arrested by the Special Task Force of UP Police. Later, three more accused -- Naresh (25), Bablu (22) and Rais (28) -- were also arrested.