Rajasthan parading: CM meets victim, promises Rs 10-lakh aid, govt job

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has announced financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh and a government job to the woman who was allegedly stripped and paraded naked by her husband and others in Pratapgarh district, an official statement said on Saturday (September 3).

Gehlot met the victim and her family in Pratapgarh’s Dhariyawad on Saturday afternoon.

The Opposition BJP has targeted the Congress government over the incident that occurred on Thursday, accusing it of failing to contain crimes against women in the state.

“What about Manipur?”

Hitting back at the BJP, Gehlot highlighted the recent incident in the BJP-ruled Manipur, where two women from one of the warring communities were paraded naked by a few men from the other side. A May 4 video of the incident surfaced online in July.

Gehlot said his government took action in the Pratapgarh incident in a timely manner, whereas Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not even aware of the Manipur incident for over two months.

“I would like to ask the prime minister... when the civil war was going on in Manipur, when two women were paraded naked in the presence of police and raped, why did you come to know about it after two months?” Gehlot told reporters in Dhariyawad.

He added that both the ruling and the Opposition party should condemn the inhuman incident of Dhariyawad in one voice so that a message goes to society that such matters should not be politicised.

Gehlot promises strict action

Gehlot expressed grief over the Pratapgarh incident and said 10 accused have been arrested so far, and if it is found during investigation that more people were involved, strict action will be taken against them as well. During his meeting with the victim, Gehlot consoled her and assured her that the administration and the state government were with her.

Calling her the “daughter of Rajasthan”, Gehlot said “she is from a very poor tribal family and I am saddened to see their condition” as he announced financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh and a government job for her.

He said Rajasthan is a state where the accused are caught soon after they commit a crime.

According to the statement, Gehlot said the criminals will be prosecuted in a fast-track court and given the strictest punishment.

“No place in civilised society”

He said such incidents and criminals have no place in a civilised society. “Such tragic and inhuman incidents should be condemned in one voice,” the chief minister said. He added that the “prevention of crimes against women is our top priority”.

“In the Pratapgarh incident, the act of the in-laws owing to a dispute with the woman’s family is highly condemnable,” Gehlot said, noting that as soon as the incident came to the notice, ADG Crime was directed to go to the spot and take strict action.

“Police took swift action and detained all the accused within a few hours,” the chief minister said.

DGP Umesh Mishra said the incident was a fallout of a matrimonial dispute.

After a video of the incident appeared on social media, a case was registered against 10 accused under relevant sections of the IPC and IT Act.

(With agency inputs)