E-Paper
BJP Leader Shehzad Poonawalla attacks Congress over alleged gangrape incident in Karnataka's Haveri
BJP and Congress engage in war of words over alleged “gangrape” incident in Karnataka's Haveri.
The alleged gangrape incident in Karnataka's Haveri has ignited a war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, with leaders from the saffron group alleging that the grand old party is “silent” looking at the “religion of the accused”.
The incident occurred in Haveri's Hangal on Thursday when a group of men allegedly barged into a hotel room occupied by an interfaith couple and thrashed them in yet another case of moral policing. However, things took a darker turn when several media outlets reported that the woman in the couple was also gangraped by the group of assaulters.
ALSO READ | Group of men barge into hotel room, thrash interfaith couple in Karnataka; 3 arrested
This spurred a political slugfest in the southern state, with BJP leaders demanding strict action against the perpetrators. In this light, senior leader Shehzad Poonawalla said, “In Karnataka, the shocking moral policing incident involving 7 men has now taken a more serious proportion. Not only did these men barge into the room of an interfaith couple, assault them, beat up the young Muslim woman, dragged her out, and made a video out of it, but the woman has now complained that she has been gang raped.”
"This is the level of law and order in Karnataka. But the voluble and loud Priyanka Vadra, Rahul Gandhi, Congress ecosystem, and spokespersons, all of them are maintaining pin drop silence. Why is it because Karnataka is Congress-ruled or because of the religion of the accused, based on which they will selectively express outreach and selectively remain silent?" He told news agency ANI.
ALSO READ | No law and order in Karnataka: BJP slams Congress govt on Haveri moral policing issue
Other senior leaders from the BJP including CT Ravi, R Ashoka, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and former CM Basavaraj Bommai have spoken out on the issue so far. The accused in the case have been identified as Aftab Makabul, Madarsab Mohammad, Samiulla and three others.
Earlier, Haveri SP Anshu Kumar had said that the victim’s statement has been recorded and that three of the seven accused have been arrested by the police. "One is in the hospital. The other 3 are on the run. We will arrest the remaining accused as well. We weren't told about rape earlier. We came to know about this only through media report about the video by the woman. We have booked a case under the appropriate section, investigation is ongoing," he said.
(With inputs from ANI)
