DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand police have arrested a former office-bearer of the BJP Mahila Morcha and her lover on charges of facilitating the repeated gang-rape of her minor daughter. The woman is accused of allegedly orchestrating the brutalisation of her own child with her lover and his friend on multiple occasions.
According to police sources, the accused woman, who had previously served as a BJP Mahila Morcha official, was living separately from her husband following a domestic dispute. While her son remained with his father, she took her daughter with her and subsequently began living with her lover, Sumit Patwal.
The horrific ordeal came to light when the minor daughter visited her father. Observing her withdrawn and dejected state, the father initiated a conversation, during which the girl recounted her harrowing experience. On Tuesday evening, the distressed father brought his daughter to the Ranipur police station to lodge a complaint.
The father's complaint alleges that in January, his wife took their daughter on the pretext of an outing in a car, accompanied by her lover Sumit Patwal and his friend Shubham, towards the BHEL Stadium area. There, after consuming alcohol, the two men allegedly gang-raped the minor daughter with the consent of her mother. Preliminary police investigation has further revealed that the child was also subjected to similar gang-rapes in hotels located in Agra, Vrindavan, and Haridwar. The daughter was allegedly threatened with the murder of both herself and her father if she disclosed the abuse to anyone.
Speaking to TNIE, Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police Pramendra Singh Dobhal stated, "The medical report has corroborated the sexual abuse. On Wednesday, the accused woman and her lover, Sumit Patwal were arrested near Shivmurti Chowk. The search for the absconding accused, Shubham, continues."
He further said the accused woman attempted to normalise the sexual abuse to her daughter, allegedly telling her that physical relations were "normal." The child was reportedly gang-raped a total of seven or eight times. Each time, she was allegedly given alcohol, and the former BJP leader was present during the horrific acts. It is also understood that the accused woman was running a hotel on lease with her lover, Sumit Patwal, in Haridwar's Chitra Talkies lane, and it was in this hotel that the daughter was also subjected to gang-rape.
The Ranipur police station has registered a case under stringent sections, including gang-rape and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. After the minor's medical examination and the recording of her statement before the court, police sent both accused to judicial custody.
In light of these grave allegations, the BJP has expelled the woman from the party. Ashutosh Sharma, BJP District President, issued a letter confirming her immediate expulsion from the party's primary membership. She had already been removed from her post in the Mahila Morcha in August 2024 following complaints regarding her conduct.