Image: DNA
On April 28, 2016 the Gauhati High Court rejected the anticipatory bail application of Assam Congress leader Pranjit Choudhury who had been accused of rape by a 23 year old woman. The woman had alleged that the Choudhury had exploited her sexually after promising to marry her. She also alleged that he forced her to get an abortion and dumped her. Choudhury who was booked under relevant sections for rape, cheating and forcing an abortion, is absconding.
In June 2016, Gujarat BJP leader Jayesh Patel was booked for raping a 22 year old nursing student. The girl was a student of Vadodara’s Parul University of which Patel was the founder president. The complainant also accused Bhavna Patel, the rector of the women’s hostel of abetting the crime. Bhavna allegedly took the survivor to Jayesh’s home near the hostel where he raped her. He then threatened to fail and rusticate her if she reported the crime. The police have booked both the accused under IPC Sections 376 (committing rape), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 114 (abettor present when offence is committed). Both Jayesh and Bhavna have been absconding.
On January 20, 2017, Anil Bhosale, a BJP Corporator from Mira Road was booked for allegedly raping and having ‘unnatural’ sex with a 44 year old woman. Bhosale is athe General Secretary of the Mira Bhayander unit of the BJP. The woman said Bhosale would drop in at her apartment on the pretext of helping her with her divorce. One day he allegedly raped her and filmed the act. He then blackmailed her with the video and forced her to have sex with him multiple times at hotels in Vasai. He also allegedly threatened to kill her son and shut down her beauty parlour. While the police filed charges under section 376 (rape) and 377 (unnatural sex) of the IPC, Bhosale is yet to be arrested. He went absconding after his anticipatory bail was rejected in February 2017.
On February 8, 2017 a 24 year old woman filed an FIR alleging that she had been gangraped by 10 people including four BJP members in Kutch. She also alleged that the accused filmed the rape and then forced her into prostitution thereafter. The four BJP leaders named in the FIR were Shantilal Solanki, Govind Parumalani, Ajit Ramvani and Vasant Bhanushali. They were promptly suspended by the party and arrested by the police.
On February 21, 2017, Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee Vice President Brajesh Pandey resigned over allegations of sexual exploitation when a daughter of a former minister of the same party. He was booked under various sections of the POCSO Act after the note was submitted by the CID Women’s Cell. Charges have also been filed under the SC/ST Prevention of Attrocities Act as the girl hails from a Scheduled Caste. But Pandey claimed that this was just a political conspiracy against him. His co-accused Nikhil Priyadarshi is absconding. However, the police are confident of building a case against him for running a sex racket along with his accomplices.
On February 23, 2017, former Delhi BJP MLA Vijay Jolly was booked for rape after a woman filed a complaint against him claiming that he sexually assaulted her after drugging her. The incident was said to have taken place at Gurugram’s Apno Ghar Resort on February 10, 2017. Jolly, who was once a legislator from Saket, was booked under 376 (rape), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc.) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. However, Jolly refuted the claims alleging the woman was a member of the BJP’s women’s wing and tarnishing his image following a failed extortion attempt. Jolly filed a counter complaint against her under sections 384 (extortion) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy). Investigations are still on in the case.
On February 26, 2017, a BJP leader Bhojpal Singh Jadon of Morena in Madhya Pradesh and his two associates allegedly raped a Dalit woman after promising to help her get a Below Poverty Line (BPL) card. The woman who is a resident of Sumawali village in Morena needed the card to purchase food items at subsidised rates. Jadon, who is the chairperson of the society that runs the ration shop in the village, asked the 35 year old women to come to his office to get her card made and then took her into a room and raped her. He also threatened the woman with dire consequences. Police have booked the accused after taking into account eyewitness testimony of people who saw Jadon with the survivor on the day of the crime in Morena.
Political Leaders turned Sexual Predators: Part 1
The Kathua and Unnao cases have once again dragged India’s ‘rape culture’ into the spotlight. The fact that ministers of the BJP were seen at a rally in support of the key accused in the Kathua case, and yet another BJP Minister has been named as the key perpetrator in the Unnao case has led to a growing chorus against parties with ministers and functionaries embroiled in cases of sexual abuse and assault. It appears that such tainted ministers are spread across party lines. Here are just a few examples of the rot in the system.