Chhattisgarh bypolls: BJP candidate from Bhanupratappur a rape accused, claims Congress
BJP candidate Brahmanand Netam called the allegations ‘a conspiracy hatched by Congress’ to tarnish his image
With barely two weeks to go for the Bhanupratappur bye-election, the Chhattisgarh Congress has accused Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Brahmanand Netam of concealing details of a rape case in which he is allegedly an accused.
Netam responded sharply and called the allegations ‘a conspiracy hatched by Congress’ to tarnish his image.
“We will lodge a complaint with the election commission and request them to cancel Netam’s candidature for furnishing false details in the affidavit for the nomination in bypoll,” state Congress president Mohan Markam said.
Markam said that a case was lodged by the Jharkhand police on May 15, 2019 at Telco police station in Jamshedpur where a teenage girl was reportedly forced to enter the flesh trade and was raped by many persons.
The case was lodged under relevant charges of rape, sections 4 and 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and The Immoral TRAFFIC (Prevention) Act, Markam said.
The Congress leader claimed that initially there were five people who were arrested and then during the investigation Netam was named; he was also reportedly named in the chargesheet.
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“By nominating him as the party candidate, the BJP is apparently trying to give a message that it is at the forefront in giving protection to such criminals. If there is any morality left in the BJP, it should withdraw its party symbol from Netam and if it does not do so, then people of Bhanupratappur will teach them a lesson,” he added.
“The Congress is fearing the defeat in the bypoll, hence they are accusing me as a part of their conspiracy,” Netam said.