JAIPUR: Amid the outrage over the Hathras tragedy, two teenage girls have allegedly been gang-raped by two youths in the Baran district of Rajasthan.
The opposition is trying to equate this case with the Hathras case but the Rajasthan Police and government said that the girls, in their statements before the magistrate, have accepted that they had gone with the boys on their own and that medical examination has not confirmed rape of the girls.
The two minor girls, aged 13 and 15, were reportedly taken from Baran to Kota, Jaipur, and Ajmer and were raped for three days. Initially, the two sisters had even admitted on camera that the two boys had abducted, drugged, and raped them for days.
The father of the girls reportedly told the police that the two accused (who are also minors) lured his daughters on the night of September 18 to leave with them. They were then taken to Kota and Jaipur where they were raped by the duo, he said.
Meanwhile, the family of the two minors alleged that they were threatened not to file a complaint against the accused.
Finally, on September 21, the girls were found in Kota. When they tried to tell the cops about the incident, the accused had allegedly threatened to kill them. But the police claimed that the minor girls denied allegations of rape in their statement before a magistrate.
The girls were handed over to their families after recording their statements. The SP of Baran Police, Dr. Ravi remarked, “On the complaint of their father, the two minor girls were quickly recovered from Kota. In their 164 statement before the magistrate, the girls had admitted that they had gone out of their own choice. But we are conducting a detailed probe on all aspects.”
With the Hathras tragedy creating a national furore against the UP government, the BJP is keen to embarrass the Congress government in Rajasthan over the Baran crime. Former Union Minister and now BJP spokesperson Rajyavardhan Rathore was quick to attack the Gehlot government. He remarked, “The two minor girls from Baran were raped in Jaipur and Kota but the police allowed the culprits to get away after a few days in custody. The police are trying to cover up this horrible gang rape.”
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took to Twitter to counter BJP's allegation. “The incident in Hathras is highly condemnable. But unfortunately, the incident in the Baran district of Rajasthan is being compared to the incident in Hathras. Girls in the Baran case have given their statement before the magistrate that they had gone with the boys on their own,” Gehlot tweeted in Hindi.
The CM added that “Medical examination of the girls was done and it was revealed in the investigation that the boys were also minors. Further investigation is on in the matter.”