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Rape accused found innocent: BSP demands CBI probe, warns of protests
A BSP delegation, led by its state president Vishwanath Pal, visited the house of the minor girl in Lohanda village on Thursday and assured her and her family members of all possible help. Demanding a CBI probe into the matter, he warned of a statewide agitation if justice was not meted out to the girl.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Thursday demanded a CBI inquiry into a case in which a minor girl in Kaushambi district had alleged rape by a man, who was recently found innocent in an SIT probe .
A BSP delegation, led by its state president Vishwanath Pal, visited the house of the minor girl in Lohanda village on Thursday and assured her and her family members of all possible help. Demanding a CBI probe into the matter, he warned of a statewide agitation if justice was not meted out to the girl.
“Earlier, when the police were working impartially, a case was registered for rape and the accused was booked under POCSO Act and sent to jail. However, under political pressure, rape charges were removed and the accused got bail,” Pal alleged.
The truth will emerge only if a CBI inquiry is conducted in the matter, he said.
Meanwhile, head of Gulabi Gang Sampat Pal also met the family of the minor girl, whose father has been booked for poisoning the father of the accused found innocent.
Accusing the police of filing a fake case and announcing a reward of ₹25,000 under pressure, Sampat Pal threatened agitation if there was no fair investigation conducted into the incident.
Sampat Pal said the girl’s father had no role in the incident and that he was not even in the village at that time. “He was framed due to political pressure. A fake case was also registered against his father, brother and other relatives. The police are treating the family like goons and they are being threatened with an encounter,” she alleged, reiterating her demand for a fair probe.
It may be mentioned that a man accused of raping an eight-year-old girl in Lohanda village of Kaushambi recently was recently found innocent after an SIT probe revealed that the allegations were false and motivated by personal rivalry.
However, for the family of the man, Siddharth Tiwari, it was too late. His father died by suicide days before his release after all his efforts to convince officials of his son’s innocence failed.
Based on the SIT findings, the rape charges against Siddharth were dropped and he was granted bail by a court on June 9.
On May 28, a local resident had filed a complaint, alleging that his daughter was sexually assaulted by Siddharth Tiwari, following which the accused was arrested on May 29. Days after Siddharth’s arrest, the incident took a grim turn when his father, Rambabu Tiwari, 50, a farmer, allegedly died by suicide on June 4.
