A 13-year-old girl who was dragged out of a car and gangraped near a highway in UP’s Bulandshahr district has approached the Supreme Court, demanding action against Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan who said the incident could be a ‘political conspiracy’.
The girl, a resident of Noida, said she had lost confidence in the police force in Uttar Pradesh and the case should be transferred to Delhi, her lawyer, Kislay Pandey, told HT on Saturday. The girl has moved the court through her friend.
A gang of highway robbers raped the girl and her 35-year-old mother at gunpoint on NH-91 when they were travelling with their family from Noida to Shahjahanpur last month.
As the ruling SP came under attack over deteriorating law and order, Khan triggered a controversy for his comments that “it must be checked if the ghastly incident is the handiwork of those who want to gain power in the state by tarnishing the image of this government”.
His comments triggered sharp criticism from political rivals ahead of next year’s state election, and the girl’s father asked Khan if he would have made a similar statement for his own family.
The girl also demanded a court-monitored probe into the incident, rehabilitation and security, her lawyer said.
On Friday, the Allahabad high court ordered a CBI probe into the incident. The court asked police to furnish before the court statements of the victims and asked why the medical examination of the victims was not conducted.
After a country-wide outrage, the state government suspended seven policemen, including the Bulandshahr senior superintendent of police, for alleged laxity. The victims too alleged that police did not pay attention to their complaints initially.