LUCKNOW: The counsel of one of the accused in the Hathras gang rape has charged Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for making a "derogatory" statement against his client for "political gains."
He resorted to legal recourse by serving a legal notice, asking Rahul Gandhi to pay Rs 50 lakh in compensation.
“This is an offence punishable under Section 356(2) of BNS 2023, for which my client should be paid Rs 50 lakh,” said the lawyer.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had met the 19-year-old gangrape victim’s family in Boolgarhi village in Hathras on December 12 in a surprise visit this year.
He had interacted with the relatives of the victim in a closed-door meeting that lasted for 45 minutes. In his post on X, after the meeting Gandhi described the current situation of the victim's family.
“Today, I visited Hathras and met the family of the victim of the shameful and unfortunate incident that occurred four years ago. During the meeting, the things they shared deeply shook me,” Gandhi wrote.
“The entire family continues to live under a cloud of fear. They are being treated like criminals. They cannot move freely – they are constantly under surveillance by guns and cameras,” he wrote.
The victim, a Dalit girl was brutally gang raped by four men belonging to the privileged caste of the same village in Hathras. She passed away after a fortnight during treatment in a Delhi hospital.
The victim was cremated on the night at about 2:30 am by Uttar Pradesh Police, allegedly without the consent or knowledge of the victim's family. The brother of the victim alleged that they were locked up in their house while the cremation was going on. The family also alleged that the UP police delayed registering FIR in the case. Amid nationwide outrage, the case was later handed over to the CBI.
Three of the four accused were later acquitted by an SC/ST court in Hathras while one was sentenced to life imprisonment. The matter is pending before the Allahabad High Court.
“My client, one of the accused, was acquitted by the court as the allegations of gang rape and murder were not proved. But Rahul Gandhi, for political gains, wrote on X that while the victim’s family is confined to the home, the free movement of the accused is against the basic principle of the Constitution,” the lawyer in his notice.
“Rahul Gandhi is a responsible MP and holds a position as the leader of the opposition. He commented on social media even after the verdict holding my client not guilty. The statement has cast a stigma on the character of my client,” stated the counsel.