(Trigger warning: Description of sexual assault.)
A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against three people, including a BJP MLC's wife, for alleged stripping a tribal woman and sexually abusing her, in Maharashtra's Beed district.
Details: The woman has alleged that BJP MLC Suresh Dhas' wife, Prajakta Dhas, is trying to grab her land with the help of goons.
Adding to it, she claimed that on 15 October, she had gone to her field, along with her daughter-in-law and husband. She stayed in the field to keep the fodder in her cart, while daughter-in-law and husband went away.
"(While) I was loading maize in the cart, Rahul Jagdale and Raghu came there. Raghu threw me on the ground and Rahul caught hold of my leg. Both of them hit me on my leg and chest. All this was being done at the behest of the MLA's wife, who was standing at a distance of five to ten feet. The accused pulled my hair and beat me up," the woman claimed.
"When I started screaming for help, my husband and daughter-in-law came there. After which, both Raghu and Rahul started running away. The MLA's also wife ran into the maize field and came back later after the police had arrived, claim that 'this is my land'," the woman alleged.
While the incident took place on 15 October, the FIR was registered on 21 October after the video of the incident went viral on social media, reported The Indian Express.
The report further quotes the police stating the woman initially refused to register a complaint, however, she later lodged a complaint on the portal.
Police action: The accused – Dhas, Jagdale and Pawar – have been booked under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and various other section of the Indian Penal Code including:
Section 354, 354B: Assault or criminal force to woman
Section 323: Voluntarily causing hurt
Section 504: Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace
Section 506: Criminal intimidation
Section 354A: Sexual harassment
Section 34: Criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention
Meanwhile, BJP MLC has claimed that his wife has nothing to do with the incident.
"The case registered here is false. There is no truth in it. There should be a thorough investigation into this incident. The video should also be thoroughly examined through a forensic lab," Dhas said.
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