Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Barabanki, Ranjeet Bahadur Srivastava, made a rather shocking and controversial statement over the Hathras incident where a 19-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped and brutally tortured by four upper-caste men in September. She later died at a Delhi hospital.

Ranjeet Bahadur Srivastava even claimed that the four accused who belong to the upper caste are ‘innocent’ and it is the victim who was ‘awaara’ (errant or non-compliant). He made this appalling statement in an interview to a news channel on Tuesday night.

Interestingly, Srivastava himself is a controversial BJP leader with over 44 criminal cases against his name. He claimed that the victim was ‘having an affair with the accused’ and had called him to the millet field on September 14 (the day of the crime).

Srivastava can be heard saying, “The victim must have called the boy to the field because they were having an affair. This news is already out on social media and news channels. She must have got caught after that.”

To add insult to injury, the BJP leader claimed that “such women are found dead in a few specific spots”.

“Such girls are found dead in only some places. They will be found dead in sugarcane, corn and millet fields or in bushes, gutters or forests. Why are they never found dead in paddy or wheat fields?” he asked.

He reasoned that crops like sugarcane, corn and millet are taller in height and can conceal a person while wheat and paddy grow up to only three or four feet in height.

He went on to claim that no one ever witnesses such crimes when they occur or sees the victim being dragged away from the crime spot.

Srivastava defended the four accused of the crime saying they should be released from prison till the CBI files a charge sheet in the case.

“I can say with guarantee these boys are innocent. If they are not released in time, they will keep facing mental harassment. Who will return their lost youth? Will the government give them compensation?” he demanded.

Taking note of Srivastava’s statements, the National Commission for Women chief Rekha Sharma said, “He is not fit to be called the leader of any party. He is showing his primitive and sick mindset and I am going to send a notice to him.”

Earlier, BJP MLA from Ballia, Surendra Singh said that “sanskar (values) should be instilled in girls to prevent incidents of rape”.