India: BJP leader’s son arrested for alleged sexual assault of sisters in Madhya Pradesh

According to media reports, the son of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district is among those arrested for allegedly gang-raping and sexually assaulting two sisters.

What happened?

The alleged incident took place in the state’s Datia district where four people have been accused of gang-raping a 19-year-old and sexually assaulting her 17-year-old sister. The rape survivor, later, tried to commit suicide by hanging herself but was rescued and taken to the hospital.

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According to the police, the alleged gang rape and sexual assault took place on Friday afternoon when the two sisters were returning home from school. The accused, reportedly, forcefully took them in a car to the house of another accused.The four men then allegedly gang-rapedthe woman.

“The two survivors were returning from school on Friday afternoon when three accused threatened them and took them to the house of BJP leader Ramkishore Yadav,” said the Superintendent of Police (Datia), Pradeep Sharma, on Saturday.

He added, “The four accused raped the woman in front of her minor sister. They also sexually harassed the girl. The accused threatened the survivors with dire consequences if they informed anyone about the assault, and let them leave.”

When the two survivors reached home, the woman tried to kill herself but was rescued by family members who then approached the police, said Sharma, quoting the complaint filed by the 19-year-old’s younger sister.

According to the police, the woman is undergoing treatment at the Jhansi Medical College in the neighbouring Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and her condition is stable.

About those accused

So far, three of those accused (one adult and two minors), including the politician’s son, have been arrested. The police have announced a reward of Rs 10,000 ($122) for finding the fourth accused, who is reported to be on the run.

The police have identified Dhruv Rai, son of BJP’s Unnao mandal president Kishan Rai, as the prime suspect, based on the First Information Report (FIR) registered in the case. The three accused have been reported to be his friends.

Incident sparks protest

The alleged incident also sparked a large protest after family members and locals of the survivors were reportedly seen outside the police station demanding action against the people who have been arrested.

The survivor’s brother also accused the police of not registering the complaint “for hours” and alleged that it was only after they protested that officials took action.

BJP’s reaction to the accusations

In a statement, on Sunday, BJP’s Datia district unit president Surendra Budholia called the incident unfortunate and said the police were yet to record the victim’s statement. If the victim names the BJP office-bearer’s sonin her police statement, the party will serve a notice to him and take further action, reported PTI.

(With inputs from agencies)

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