BJP leaders meet family of Dumka girl killed by stalker, aim at Hemant Soren
The three BJP leaders, Godda MP Nishikant Dubey, North-east Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari and former Delhi legislator Kapil Mishra asked why the Soren government hadn’t visited the victim’s family.
RANCHI: A team of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders met the family of the 16-year-old girl in Dumka who died on Sunday of burn injuries sustained when she was set on fire by a stalker and launched a sharp attack on Jharkhand’s ruling coalition led by chief minister Hemant Soren.
The three BJP leaders, Godda MP Nishikant Dubey, North-east Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari and former Delhi legislator Kapil Mishra also asked why anyone from the Soren family hadn’t visited the victim’s family.
“It is Dumka which has made the Soren family what they are. Shibu Soren, Hemant Soren and now Basant Soren have all represented Dumka. But still, not a single person visited them. They have the time to party at dams and resorts but not here,” said Nishikant Dubey. He added that ₹28 lakh mobilised through crowdsourcing has been passed on to the family.
Kapil Mishra questioned why the government did not use an air ambulance move the girl to a better hospital.
A two judge bench of the Jharkhand high court has already taken cognisance of the case and summoned the state’s director general of police Neeraj Sinha.
On August 23, a man named Mohammed Shahrukh, who allegedly was stalking the girl from Jaruadih area poured petrol on the girl from outside the window of her room while she was sleeping and set her on fire. The teenager, who apparently did not reciprocate his overtures, succumbed to her injuries on Sunday.
The incident led to widespread protests with demands of speedy trial and death penalty for the accused. Two persons, the main accused Shahrukh and his accomplice Naeem Khan, have been arrested in connection with the case. The state government has also formed a 10-member SIT to probe into the incident.
A two-member team of the National Commission for Women also met the family on Wednesday. “We have already sought a report from the DGP. Today we came here to see for ourselves and get first-hand feedback,” said NCW member Shalini Singh.
Priyank Kanoongo, chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is expected to meet the family on Thursday.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha general secretary Supriya Bhattacharya rebutted the BJP criticism, saying that the medical board hadn’t given permission for moving the 16-year-old girl.
“These people speak blatant lies. It is the medical board that assesses and gives the go-ahead for airlifting a patient. In this case, the board had not given clearance. But the government immediately got Chatra girl - who was the target of an acid attack - airlifted on Wednesday as the board gave its clearance,” he said.
Apart from BJP leaders, Congress MP from Singhbhum Geeta Kora and JMM legislator Lobin Hembrom also visited the family and extended support.
“Nothing less than a death penalty to the accused will be justice. We need to set an example if we wish to check such crime against women,” said Kora.
Meanwhile, the Jharkhand Child Welfare Committee has asked for the addition of charges under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in the first information report (FIR).
The committee said the girl was a minor as per the class 10 board examination mark sheet and not an adult, said Dumka district public relations officer. The police have already said that they will add POCSO charges against the accused when the charge sheet is filed.