The rape of a Dalit woman by a policeman in the presence of the victim’s three-year-old son in the Sanganer area here rocked the Rajasthan Assembly on Tuesday.
The shocking incident, which took place in Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma’s assembly constituency on Women’s Day on Saturday, was raised by Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tika Ram Julie and Congress member Hari Mohan Sharma in the assembly during Zero Hour. The duo made a verbal onslaught on the state government for its “failure to handle” the law and order situation.
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The issue came up when Sharma rose to mention an incident of rape and murder in his constituency, Bundi.
LoP Julie instantly joined him to mention the tragic incident in Sanganer, stating, “This reflects the prevailing situation in the Chief Minister’s constituency. One can only imagine the scenario in the rest of the state.”
He said, “Jungle raj prevails in the state, including in the Chief Minister’s own constituency, Sanganer. The situation is out of control here as protectors have turned predators.”
As LoP Julie was still making his point, his mike was suddenly switched off, leaving him red-faced and the House in an uproar.
The Opposition Congress members strongly protested the turning off of Julie’s mike, alleging, “Democracy is being throttled.”
Making a statement on the issue, MoS (Home) Jawahar Singh Bedham said, “The government has taken swift and stern action in the Sanganer incident. The accused was immediately arrested and placed under suspension.
The government is fully committed to ensuring women’s safety and security, Bedham said, adding that not a single culprit or perpetrator of atrocities against women would be spared.
The accused cop took the victim woman to a local hotel from her home on the pretext of recording her statement in a case filed by her husband against their neighbour. He made her believe that she was being taken to the police station but instead took her to the hotel, where he raped her in font of her three-year-old son.
