Sule seeks SIT probe in gang-rape victim death, Cong slams CM
Accusing the BJP-led government in Maharashtra of being "insensitive" towards women safety, NCP MP Supriya Sule on Friday led the party's protest march here, demanding an SIT probe into the death of a woman after she was allegedly gang-raped in Chembur.
By : migrator
Update: 2019-08-30 13:52 GMT
Mumbai
The Lok Sabha MP from Baramati, who was accompanied by NCP Mumbai chief Nawab Malik and MLC Vidya Chavan, pitched for forming a special investigation team (SIT), contending the ongoing probe was not being carried out "properly".
On the other hand, the Congress has demanded a CID probe into the gruesome incident.
The NCP called for immediate arrests of the accused.
The protest march was taken out from the Lal Dongar area in suburban Chembur to the Chunabhatti Police Station here.
The 19-year-old woman, who was allegedly raped by four of her friends in Mumbai in the first week of July, died at a state-run hospital in Aurangabad city in central Maharashtra on Wednesday night.
"The probe is not being conducted in a proper manner.
The matter has to be investigated through the SIT. We are with the family.
"We will not relent till the victim gets justice,"
Sule told reporters after she met officials at the Chunabhatti Police Station.
Alleging the victim's father was being "pressurised", Sule charged the government with "muzzling voices".
"The government is trying to muzzle voices. It tries to threaten all. This government is insensitive about women safety. Women are not getting justice," said Sule, the daughter of NCP president Sharad Pawar.
The Parliamentarian also said she would take the victim's brother to the Director General of Police.
The victim's mother told a Marathi news channel that the family wanted justice.
"What happened with my daughter should not happen to other girls. My daughter should get justice. We want justice,"
she said.
Later, the Parliamentarian took the victim's brother to Director General of Police Subodh Kumar Jaiswal and sought police protection for the family of the victim.
Sule also submitted a memorandum to Jaiswal, seeking to take steps to ensure safety of women in the state.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council Neelam Gorhe said she has instructed the Mumbai Police to trace the accused and ensure charge sheet in the matter is filed properly.
The alleged rape came to light on July 24 when she was admitted to a private hospital in Aurangabad, around 325km from here, after complaining of pain in private parts.
The doctors there suspected that she had been raped and informed the police and she was shifted to the governmentrun hospital.
As per the complaint filed at the Begumpura Police Station in Aurangabad, on July 7 the girl came to Mumbai.
Four of her friends decided to celebrate her birthday.
After cutting the cake, the four allegedly raped her, police said.
She later returned to Aurangabad but did not tell her parents about the incident until she was hospitalised, they said.
The case has been transferred to the Chunabhatti police station here.
Condemning the rape incident, Leader of the Opposition in Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar of the Congress raised suspicions over the role of the police in the case and questioned if the cops were trying to protect someone.
"What were the policemen waiting for a month (after the incident)?" he said, adding "A CID probe must be carried out into the incident."
Targeting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, Wadettiwar alleged the former does not have control over the department.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Vijaya Rahatkar, chairperson, Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW), said the panel has asked the Mumbai police to submit a report on the issue.
The commission has taken the issue very seriously and asked the Mumbai police to take quick steps to arrest the accused, she said.
"It is a very unfortunate incident. The commission has issued a notice to the Mumbai police on this sensitive issue and asked what action they have taken till now," she said.
"We are waiting for the report of the Mumbai police, said Rahatkar.
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