Ruckus in Assembly over Beed rape

The Assembly was adjourned for 30 minutes following furore over the recent gang rape of a government officer on the Beed-Ahmednagar highway.

The Assembly was adjourned for 30 minutes following furore over the recent gang rape of a government officer on the Beed-Ahmednagar highway.

HT Image

Last week, a 35-year-old government employee from Pune was gang-raped allegedly by four men with past criminal records. The victim, who was travelling with her son and husband, was returning from a pilgrimage.

Bharatiya Janata Party legislators, Sudhir Mungantiar and Eknath Khadse, moved an adjournment motion on the issue and all opposition parties and independent legislators supported it.

They demanded a discussion on it and a reply from Home Minister, R.R. Patil.

Khadse said this was the second gang rape in the state in a month, where people with criminal records were involved. “There seems to be official or political backing for these externed accused, who seem to have no fear of law,” Khadse said.

MNS legislator, Pravin Darekar, said there was a need to strengthen rape laws and improve convictions in rape cases. “The rate of conviction in rape cases is 15 per cent in the state. The home minister has given us outdated figures on how crime rate has reduced,’’ Darekar said.

Speaker Dilip Walse-Patil adjourned the House and announced that the issue will be discussed on Tuesday.