AYODHYA: A three-member BJP delegation on Sunday met the 12-year-old rape survivor and her family members here, and urged the state government to raise the compensation to the girl’s kin from Rs 5 lakh to 25 lakh.
Rajya Sabha MP Sangeeta Balwant Bind, who was part of the delegation, said her blood boiled when she heard the girl’s ordeal and alleged that the accused had committed similar crimes earlier too.
The team held a “detailed discussion” with the girl’s family members at her house and gathered information about the incident.
The BJP delegation also comprised Rajya Sabha MP Baburam Nishad and UP’s Minister of State (Independent Charge) Backward Class Welfare Narendra Kashyap.
A report on the matter will be submitted to K Laxman, the national president of the BJP’s OBC Morcha, Nishad said after the meeting.
BJP leaders, including Adityanath, have alleged that Moid Khan, the prime accused in the gangrape case, is a member of Samajwadi Party (SP) and part of the team of Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad.
“During our meeting, the girl’s mother told us a few things about the incident. When we heard the ordeal, our eyes filled with tears and at the same time our blood was boiling. We were angry as the Samajwadi Party has stood with the person who has committed such a heinous crime,” Bind told PTI after meeting the girl and her family members.
The Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh also asserted that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is standing with the girl like her father.
She added that the rape survivor’s father has died, and that the mother, a labourer, is taking care of her three daughters and a son.
“We also came to know that the crime has been committed by the ‘nagar adhyaksh’ (city unit president) of the Samajwadi Party, and there was another person involved in this case who used to make videos and blackmail her. After speaking to some villagers, it was revealed that the SP’s ‘nagar adhyaksh’ had committed similar crimes earlier as well,” Bind alleged.
The BJP delegation has urged Chief Minister Adityanath to raise the financial assistance provided by the state government to the girl’s family from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, Nishad told PTI.
Adityanath had extended Rs 5 lakh financial aid to the kin of the rape survivor, and the cheque was handed over to the family on Saturday by Bikapur MLA Amit Singh Chauhan.
“We held a detailed discussion with the mother of the rape survivor and other people to gather information about the incident,” Nishad said.
“Whatever action has to be taken from the side of the government, it is being done. We have also gathered other information about him (accused Moid Khan). We will go to its bottom, and conduct a probe,” he added.
He said the family of the rape survivor is “satisfied” with the action taken by the government against the accused.
Elaborating about the meeting with the rape survivor at the hospital, Nishad said, “She is a very innocent girl.”
Citing doctors, he said, “The girl is in a critical condition and doctors are giving her the best treatment.”
Asked whether he has suggested that the minor girl be shifted to a better facility in Lucknow or Delhi, Nishad said, “We have told them (doctors) that if you feel that it (giving medical treatment) is beyond your control, then without any delay, the girl should be shifted to a higher centre.”
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters, state minister Kashyap said, “We spoke to the mother (of the rape survivor) and gathered information. The delegation assured them that the government will work in every manner so that the family gets justice. The criminal who was involved in such a heinous crime will not be spared.”
He also said that the family is “satisfied” with the action initiated by the government, but there is some fear.
“We will direct officials to provide security to the family so that there is no atmosphere of fear in the family,” Kashyap said.
He also accused the SP of indulging in politics over this “heinous” crime, and said, “The SP should have condemned it, stand with the (survivor’s) family. On the contrary, they spoke about the DNA test (of the accused).”
Earlier, speaking to reporters after meeting the rape survivor’s kin, Nishad said, “The UP government is not going to spare the “duraachaaree” (devilish people) who have committed this crime.”
He said it was “unfortunate” that the leaders of the SP were supporting the miscreants.
“They (the SP leaders) cannot hear the voice and pain of the girl. Akhilesh Yadav talks about DNA testing (of the accused),” he added.
Sharpening his attack on the SP chief, the MP said, “Akhilesh Yadav, you talk about PDA, and you cannot hear the pain of a daughter belonging to the fisherman community?”
SP had come up with the ‘PDA’ — Picchde (Backward), Dalit, Alpasankhyak (Minorities) — to counter the NDA in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
The MP also accused Moid of committing several crimes earlier, adding that he tried to “hide them by using money power and muscle power”.
“We will expose such devilish persons. Such an action will be taken that many generations will remember us,” he added.
Police on July 30 arrested Moid, who would run a bakery in Bhadarsa Nagar of Ayodhya district, and his employee Raju Khan, in connection with the minor’s rape.
According to police, Moid and Raju had raped the girl two months ago and also recorded the act. The incident came to light after the girl was found to be pregnant in a medical checkup.
“This is a case of Ayodhya. Moid Khan is from SP and is a member of the Ayodhya MP’s team. He has been found involved in the rape of a 12-year-old girl. The Samajwadi Party has not taken any action against him,” Adityanath had said in the UP Assembly on Thursday.
The chief minister had met the girl’s family last week.
The Ayodhya district administration demolished Khan’s “illegal” bakery on Saturday.
(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)