Karnataka Home Minister K.J. George, whose statement on the rape of a BPO employee last weekend not being “gang rape” had drawn flak, did a U-turn on Friday.
In a bid to clarify his stand, he said, “A rape is a rape, whether it is by one person or a group of people. It is a heinous crime and condemnable.” On Wednesday, he had refused to admit that the 23-year-old BPO employee was gang-raped since it was “not sexual attack by four or five people”.
Following uproar over this “insensitive” statement, Mr. George said he was “quoted out of context”.
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He said his statement was in the context of “public perception of the gang rape” involving a large group of people and not two, as in this context.
Commissioner of Police N.S. Megharikh, citing Indian Penal Code, said the incident attracts Section 376 D of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, punishable with rigorous imprisonment.
To a query on the notice issued to him by the National Commission for Women seeking his explanation, the Minister said he had not yet received the notice, and would reply to it if he got one.
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Kalburgi case The Criminal Investigation Department, which is probing the murder case of scholar M.M. Kalburgi, has made some progress and was investigating the case from all possible angles, said Mr. George.
He stressed the State government’s policy of “zero tolerance to any attempt to weaken the secular fabric of society and exploiting religious sentiments”.