BJP leader arrested for raping daughter

For eight years, a girl from Anjala in Punjab said her father raped her. The 21-year-old broke her silence after watching the TV coverage of the recent Mumbai rape-incest case, reports Aseem Bassi.

Updated on: Mar 27, 2009, 01:16:50 IST

Hindustan Times | By Aseem Bassi, Amritsar

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For eight years, a girl from Anjala in Punjab said her father raped her. The 21-year-old broke her silence after watching the TV coverage of the recent Mumbai rape-incest case.

The girl’s father, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashok Taneja, was arrested on Thursday. A medical examination confirmed that the girl was subjected to intercourse. Taneja was later sent to judicial custody by a local court.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Amritsar Rural) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said: “Semen samples of the father have been sent for testing.”

The girl told the police her father had warned her against telling anyone of the rape. “One day, I saw on TV that a man (in Mumbai) had been arrested for raping his daughter. I then told my mother everything,” she said in her complaint.

“My husband regularly threatened my daughter. He should languish in jail all his life,” wept the mother.

Taneja said the charges were cooked up. “I am being victimised. My wife wanted our daughter to get married somewhere, but I was against it. She is using my daughter only to defame me,” he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aseem Bassi
A principal correspondent, Aseem Bassi is the bureau chief at Amritsar. He covers politics, Indo-Pak border, gurdwara politics, crime, border trade and civic issues.

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