NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday dubbed the reaction of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tanzanian student assault as a ‘political stunt’, saying that the former is seeking report from Karnataka Chief Minister only after seeing media reports on the issue.
“The law and order situation in Karnataka is really bad. These kinds of incidents are taking place time and again. This is not the first time. Rahul Gandhi ji is seeking report from the Karnataka Chief Minister only after seeing the reports in the media, is very strange. It is nothing but a political stunt,” BJP leader Zafar Islam told ANI.
Following the brutal assault on Tanzanian student in Bengaluru, Rahul Gandhi has asked the Karnataka Government to explain the incident and send the report immediately. Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh confirmed the news on his official Twitter account.
“Strongly condemn Incident with the Tanzanian Lady in Bangalore. Police must act strongly against the culprits. Rahul Gandhi asks Karnataka Govt to explain and send report immediately,” Singh said in a series of tweets.
The Bengaluru Police have arrested five people till now in connection with the assault case.
Meanwhile, Tanzanian High Commissioner John Kijazi, in a telephonic conversation with ANI, said that he wants the police to take strict action and arrest all the culprits. He also said the High Commission has written to the Indian Government, which in turn have assured them of action.
The Tanzanian student was beaten and then stripped by a group of locals in Bengaluru after they assumed she was part of an incident in which a Sudanese man had run over a local woman.
The incident took place on Hesaraghatta Road in Bengaluru on Saturday night after a Sudanese national ran his car over a 35-year-old woman resulting in on the spot death of the woman.
The Tanzanian student was travelling in another car, a Wagon-R, along with four others. The young woman, who arrived on the spot around 30 minutes later, was dragged out of the car and paraded naked after being stripped by the mob.
The victim told the police in her complaint that when she tried to get on a bus in order to escape the assault, people on the bus pushed her back towards the mob.