GUWAHATI: In election-bound Tripura, the opposition parties are putting the heat on the ruling BJP over a gang rape incident in which the son of state Labour Minister Bhagaban Das was allegedly involved. The incident was reported from the Unakoti district on October 20.
The police said preliminary investigation revealed a friend (girl) of the minor victim who is 16 years old lured her and took her to a rented house in Kumarghat where a party was going on. Subsequently, the police added, she was taken to one of the rooms, given a drink and gang-raped.
The police have so far arrested six persons in connection with the case.
Opposition parties Congress and CPI-M slammed the BJP-led government for allegedly shielding the minister’s son. They demanded his immediate arrest.
The CPI-M alleged women were no longer safe in Tripura. “Over the past few months, crime against women has become an everyday phenomenon in Tripura,” CPI-M state secretary Jitendra Chowdhury told journalists.
“The son of a minister in the state abducted a minor girl who was then gang-raped at a rented accommodation. There is a demand for his arrest but the police have not yet taken any action. I appeal to the police to arrest him,” Chowdhury demanded.
The Congress said since the name of the minister’s son got entangled in the case, Chief Minister Manik Saha should give a statement. The party also demanded the arrest of all the accused persons.
The BJP rubbished the Opposition’s charge that the minister’s son was involved but condemned the incident. Minister Sushanta Chowdhury termed it as “false” and “fabricated”. He claimed the opposition parties resorted to a “smear and malicious campaign” to gain political mileage.
Stating that the victim had not mentioned the name of the minister’s son in the FIR, he said the police had been instructed to proceed with the investigation as per law.