After NHRC indictment, Oppn guns for BJP govt

CHHATTISGARH SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE

A DAY after the NHRC prima facie found that 16 women had been victims of rape, sexual and physical assault at the hands of Chhattisgarh Police personnel in Bijapur in October 2015, the state government came under severe attack from all quarters, with the Opposition asking the government to step down.

Civil rights organisatons, which had facilitated the registration of FIRS in Bijapur, welcomed the report calling it a “small victory”.

On Saturday, after it took cognisance of a The Indian Express report of November 2, 2015, the NHRC announced an interim report which said that they had found the accused personnel, prima facie, guilty of rights violations, with statements of 20 others yet to be recorded.

Attacking the ruling BJP government, Congress PCC Chief Bhupesh Baghel told reporters in Raipur on Sunday that the NHRC has confirmed that “Bastar is in the throes of administrative terror”, and that the state government had lost the right to continue if it could not protect tribals in the state.

“We call for Article 365 to be imposed in the state,” Baghel said. Congress’s TS Singhdeo, the leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said that CM Raman Singh must resign for failing to protect women in tribal areas from such atrocities.

The Chhattisgarh Janata Congress called for President’s rule and said that the root cause of the issue was political leaders giving their support to vigilante groupslikethenowbannedsalwa Judum and special police officers.

State Home Minister Ram Sevak Taekra said that the government was committed to protecting the interests of the tribals. “The NHRC has also asked for our recommendations and we will respond to the show cause notice. However, nobody, whether police officer or not, will be spared if there has been any atrocity on women,” he said.