The brutal gang-rape and murder of a minor girl in Ahmednagar has assumed political overtones with Opposition party leaders attacking the BJP-led state government over its handling of the crime on Sunday. With just a day left for the start of the Monsoon Session of the state Assembly, politicians from the Opposition camp also alleged that one of the rapists had links to a BJP minister, a charge refuted by CM Devendra Fadnavis.
Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said, “The 15-year-old was raped and then lynched. Mr Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, has not visited the place in the last couple of days. He should take responsibility for the state’s negligence towards the incident.”
Dhananjay Munde, leader of Opposition in state council, said that Santosh Bhawal, one of the accused in the case, has close ties with water conservation minister Ram Shinde, also the guardian minister of Ahmednagar.
“Bhawal in his Facebook page has posted his pictures with Mr Shinde, which shows he is close to the BJP minister. While the incident took place on July 14, it still took a couple of days for the police to arrest the accused. Action should be taken against the police for acting late.”
The police has so far arrested three persons for the rape and murder. Later in the day, CM Devendra Fadnavis refuted the allegations that the accused had connections with Mr Shinde. He said that it was a case of both the accused and the man known to minister having identical names. “The accused is Santosh Gorakh Bhawal, whereas the one who was seen with Mr Shinde is Santosh Nana Bhawal. The Opposition is indulging in character assassination of Mr Shinde and they should publicly apologise to him,” the CM said.
On July 14, a Class 9 girl, was found brutally raped and murdered at Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district. The incident has led to a series of protests throughout the state with Maratha organisations planning to stage a massive state-level morcha in Ahmednagar and most district headquarters on Monday.
The state government has appointed noted lawyer Ujjwal Nikam as public prosecutor for the Ahmednagar rape and murder case. CM Devendra Fadnavis said the case would be moved to a fast-track court. The strongest of laws would be applied against the accused and if needed, they would also be tried under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, he said. The state government will provide all the necessary aid to the family of the deceased, he added.
