ronabKOLKATA: In the Hanskhali gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old class 9 student, the BJP has formed a fact-finding committee of five woman leaders from different states to enquire into the case.
The committee comprises BJP’s vice-president and MP Rekha Verma, Uttar Pradesh minister Baby Rani Maurya, Tamil Nadu MLA, and BJP’s women wing head Vanathi Srinivasan, national executive member Kushbu Sunder and West Bengal MLA Sreerupa Mitra Choudhury.
The panel members will visit West Bengal and meet the bereaved family before submitting a report to the saffron camp’s national president JP Nadda.
Sources in the BJP said all the five members of the committee were nominated by Nadda. ‘’Our party doesn’t want to miss the opportunity to use the issue as a political tool against Mamata Banerjee-led government as the chief minister keeps talking about empowerment of women and claiming welfare works done by her government are for the women in Bengal."
Referring to the chief minister’s remark wondering whether the victim and the accused, who is a son of a local Trinamool Congress leader, were in a relationship and whether the minor girl was pregnant, a senior leader said, "her comment has hurt the mothers of Bengal and we will make it an issue."
Reacting to the Hanskhali case, Mamata on Monday said, ‘’Was there a love affair between the girl and the youth? Was she pregnant? The girl died on April 5 and the complaint was lodged on April 10. Why was the complaint not lodged on the same day?’’
The chief minister’s remark drew flak in the political circle of Bengal.
In the complaint lodged by the victim’s family members, it was alleged that the 14-year-old girl was gang-raped at the house of Brajagopal Goala, the accused and son of a local panchayat member, where she had gone to attend a birthday party and she was bleeding profusely while being dropped at home. The family also alleged that they cremated the body of the girl, who died the next morning, before post-mortem and without a death certificate under pressure from the accused.
Based on the high court’s order, CBI registered a case of gang rape and murder. ‘’The case was lodged under the Indian Penal Code sections of 376D (gangrape), 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 34 (common intention) and POCSO 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault),’’ said a CBI official.
Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday met the chief secretary and the DGP to discuss the law and order situation in the state. He also requested Mamata to come forward for interaction on these issues as soon as possible.