Illustration for representational purpose only.
The BJP on Saturday suspended its block chief from Almora in Uttarakhand, after he was booked for the rape of a 14-year-old girl. The Congress held Statewide protests attacking the ruling party for its record on crimes against women.
Bhagwat Bora, the BJP chief in the Salt block, will remain suspended from the party and his position until he is acquitted in the rape case, according to a letter sent by Lila Bisht, BJP president in Ranikhet
An FIR lodged by the revenue police accuses Mr. Bora of raping the minor when she was grazing goats outdoors. After the victim’s family decided to lodge a complaint, the BJP leader threatened them with dire consequences, the complaint says.
Misuse of power: Congress
Calling Mr. Bora’s alleged actions a ‘misuse of power’, Congress State vice president Suryakant Dhasmana said that women are continuously being attacked in Uttarakhand by BJP office-bearers and their kin. Saying the ruling party was anti-women, Mr. Dhasmana recalled the case of Ankita Bhandari, who was killed by Pulkit Arya, a BJP leader’s son, and his friends in September 2022.
“The BJP government does everything to save its people rather getting justice for the women,” said Mr. Dhasmana, who burnt an effigy of the BJP government and staged a protest at Delhradun’s Gandhi Park on Saturday.
The Congress also claimed that BJP members were involved in a couple of rape cases in Haridwar over the past few months, accusing the government of delayed action in cases related to crimes against women.
The Opposition party held protests under the leadership of former Chief Minister Harish Rawat and State president Karan Mahara in Roorkee, while MLA Sumit Hridyesh led demonstrations in Haldwani.
