AHMEDABAD: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday demanded an investigation into the Naliya sex racket case by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a sitting High Court judge and threatened to launch a state-wide agitation on the issue.
The Kutch police superintendent had constituted a special investigation team (SIT) after a woman, residing in Mumbai, filed a complaint at Naliya police station on 25 January, alleging she was repeatedly gang-raped and threatened by 10 men, including a local BJP worker, during the last one year. D
elhi's rural development minister Gopal Rai alleged that the ruling BJP in Gujarat was trying to shield "big names" allegedly involved in the sex racket and demanded an investigation monitored by an SIT, led by a sitting HC judge. "Only local leaders of the BJP are not involved in Naliya sex racket. Several big names too are involved, because such a big racket cannot be possible without the involvement of big names.
Ever since the matter came to light, there are efforts to shield the mastermind," Rai alleged. He alleged that the racket extended till Ahmedabad and many big BJP leaders are involved which is why the culprits are being shielded.
"We demand the constitution of an SIT headed by a sitting High Court judge so that the matter is investigated independently and the names of the main mastermind and those associated with him come out," he said. "We will monitor the development closely and will also launch state-wide agitation and raise the issue at the Centre if our demands are not met by the government," he said.
Meanwhile, Gandhinagar police detained around 25 women belonging to AAP when they were protesting outside Chief Minister Vijay Rupani's bungalow over the issue. The matter came to light after eight persons, including local leaders of the BJP, were arrested in connection with the gangrape of the victim at Naliya town in Kutch district.
In her FIR, the 24-year-old woman alleged that she was raped by at least nine persons on different occasions after an accused made a video of the act and threatened to circulate the video clip. The victim has alleged in her FIR that the accused have been running a sex racket in Kutch district and forcing victims to have sex with numerous persons after blackmailing them by making video.