The Gujarat government has agreed for a judicial probe in the Kutch sex racket and gang rape case, in which a four local BJP leaders are allegedly accused.
The announcement of the probe was made by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in the Assembly on Wednesday. He said, “We are committed to ensure that all guilty [are] punished and no one is spared.”
The Congress had aggressively pushed for a probe in the case by forcing adjournment of Assembly proceedings frequently on Monday and Tuesday. However, the Opposition party did not raise the issue after the Mr. Rupani’s announcement.
Members of the Congress had even placed their demands even before the presentation of annual budget in the house on Tuesday. The house was adjourned and the Congress members pressed for a probe during the question hour.
Earlier, a State Congress delegation had sought for Gujarat governor O.P. Kohli’s intervention in the matter.
The case
A 23-year-old woman had filed an FIR with the Kutch police earlier this month, accusing nine persons of gang rape.
She had also alleged that 35 young women and college-going girls were lured by a group of businessmen and politicians into flesh trade.
According to the FIR, in August 2015, the woman came to her mother’s house at Kothara village in Kutch from Mumbai (where she was staying with her husband). She was looking for a job and her mother sought help from one Bababhai, who owned a mobile shop in Naliya town.
He reportedly assured the family that he would help the woman find a job within a couple of days. He also introduced her to a gas agency owner Shantilal Solanki, who offered her a job at ₹5,500 per month.
Subsequently, the woman was repeatedly gang raped by nine persons at different places in Kutch district. Four local BJP politicians, among other accused, were named in the FIR filed by the victim. The politicians have been arrested by the cops.
