Ajoy Kumar, Congress | (PTI: Photo/R Senthilkumar)
The Congress on Saturday questioned the ‘silence’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over the alleged sexual assault on the fiancée of an army officer in police custody in Odisha and other incidents of crimes against women in BJP-ruled states.
Congress leader Ajoy Kumar said that in Odisha, some men misbehaved with the daughter of an army brigadier, who is also the fiancé of an army captain. When she went to a ‘model police station’ to file a complaint, she and her fiancé were brutally beaten up.
“Then a fake case is filed and the victim and her companion are taken into custody. In this case, an army officer writes a letter to a Supreme Court judge saying ‘give us justice’. But Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are silent in the entire matter,” Kumar said at a joint press conference with All India Congress Committee (AICC) ex-servicemen’s wing president Colonel (retired) Rohit Chaudhry.
In Indore, Madhya Pradesh, army officers and their girlfriends were taken hostage and assaulted. One of the two women was raped, he alleged.
In Rajasthan, an Army soldier was brutally assaulted at a police station, Kumar alleged. He also cited another incident from Manipur, in which the wife of an Army soldier was allegedly stripped naked.
“In Manipur, an army jawan was abducted and then murdered. In Odisha, a tribal girl was raped and her body was found,” he said.
“There have been many such incidents in the country but Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have not said a word about them,” the Congress leader said.
In Jharkhand, Seema Patra, a woman leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), brutally tortured a tribal girl working in her house, he alleged.
Kumar said there are two groups of women in the country: those living in BJP-ruled states and others. The saffron party leaders speak only on behalf of the latter category, while women face all kinds of cruelties under their rule.
“Some time ago, President Droupadi Murmu said ‘enough is enough’ after the Kolkata incident (rape and murder). Now we are asking, how much is ‘enough is enough’? Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, Indore — we are asking Modiji, when will you write an editorial in one of the major national dailies, saying ‘enough is enough’,” Kumar said.
Chaudhry said, “A brigadier’s daughter is not safe in Odisha. She is being abused, she goes to a police station to complain, she is brutally abused there too. Such acts have been committed on the woman which cannot be described.”
According to him, the situation in BJP-ruled Odisha is like this and it is the hooliganism of the saffron party.
Chaudhry claimed that similar incidents like the one in Odisha have been reported from different parts of the country.
A soldier from Manipur, who gave Pakistan a hard time, could not save his wife, he said.
“Despite all this, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah remain silent,” Chaudhry said.
Opposition party Biju Janara Dal (BJD) and Congress held protests in Odisha on Saturday demanding justice for the woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted at a police station in Bhubaneswar.
The alleged incident took place on September 15, when an army officer posted in West Bengal and his fiancée went to the Bharatpur police station to lodge a complaint of road rage. They were also allegedly harassed by some local men.
However, a verbal confrontation broke out between the duo and some police officers, after which the army officer and his fiancée were reportedly attacked at the police station.
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First publication: Sep 21, 2024 | 8:16 PM IST