The victim alleges that despite approaching the police five days ago, no concrete action has been taken so far, and she fears for her safety
NEW DELHI — The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not fight shy of projecting itself as the party that champions the causes of women and the downtrodden segments of society. But several of its leaders and active workers have found to be wanting in their avowed claim and have been accused of abusing women and in many cases rape and sexual intimidation have been lodged against them.
In the latest in the series of rape charges against those associated with the BJP is the case of the husband of saffron party’s councillor in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district, a report on the Hate Detector website said on Sunday.
He has recently been accused of raping a woman at knifepoint, making a video of the act, and later threatening her with it to force her into repeated sexual relations. When the victim confronted him on camera, saying she would post the video of their interaction on social media, the man brazenly said nothing would happen to him.
The accused has been identified as Ashok Singh, the husband of a BJP councillor in the Rampur Baghelan Nagar Parishad. A video purportedly showing Singh abusing a police officer and threatening the victim has been shared widely on social media, triggering outrage.
In the viral clip, the accused is allegedly heard saying, “What will happen to me? Nothing will happen. Complain wherever you want, nothing will happen to me,” while the woman can be heard crying in the background and talking about filing a complaint.
The woman submitted a written complaint to Satna Superintendent of Police (SP) Hansraj Singh last week, alleging that the crime took place about six months ago and that she had remained silent due to threats to her life and family.
The SP immediately transferred the investigation to Deputy Superintendent of Police Manoj Trivedi.
According to the victim, Ashok Singh, a resident of Karhi, entered her house, raped her at knifepoint, recorded the act on his mobile phone, and threatened to kill her and her family if she spoke about the incident. The woman alleged that he approached her again on December 20, molested her, and renewed his threats, demanding that she comply with what he wanted or face public humiliation through the release of the video.
She claimed that Singh has a criminal background and had earlier been externed from the district. This, she said, emboldened him to act with impunity and threaten her openly. The victim said Singh regularly comes to her shop, abuses her verbally, and repeats his threats, creating an atmosphere of fear and harassment.
The woman has alleged that despite approaching the police five days ago, no concrete action has been taken so far, and she fears for her safety.
Police officials said they are verifying the authenticity of the viral video and examining all evidence. No arrest had been officially confirmed so far.
