Budaun (UP): Political slugfest has begun after the death of the 50-year-old anganwadi worker. She was gangraped and murdered allegedly by a priest and his two accomplices in this district of Uttar Pradesh. The brutal death of the anganwadi worker has triggered the opposition’s outcry. The murder of the woman took place Sunday night.
Badaun’s Senior Superintendent of Police Sankalp Sharma confirmed that the woman has been raped. “The post-mortem report confirms rape and there are injuries in her private parts and a fracture in the leg. She suffered a rib fracture too,” said Sharma citing the autopsy report.
The SSP said the station house officer (SHO) of Ughaiti police station has been suspended for ‘delay in informing higher authorities’, laxity in taking action, dereliction of duty and failure in taking speedy action’.
“The 50-year-old woman had gone to a temple Sunday. She was found dead under mysterious circumstances. Family members of the woman have accused the temple mahant (priest) and his accomplices of raping and murdering her. Based on this, a case was registered against the accused. Two of the accused persons were arrested Tuesday night while the mahant is still absconding,” Sharma informed. Four teams have been formed to nab the priest, he added.
Amid this situation the political slugfest has begun. Even though Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered ‘strongest possible action’ in the case the opposition parties attacked his government. They termed the incident ‘horrific’ and ‘shameful’. The Congress compared the matter to the Nirbhaya incident of 2012.
Also read: Nirbhaya rerun: Woman on way to Temple gangraped, rod inserted in private parts
The National Commission for Women too took note of the incident and decided to send a team of its members to probe the incident.
The Chief Minister’s Office said in a tweet, “The UP CM @myogiadityanath has taken cognizance of the Badaun incident and instructed to take strongest legal action against the accused. The Chief Minister has also instructed the ADG Bareilly zone to submit a detailed report regarding the incident. The CM has directed the UPSTF to provide assistance in the investigation in the incident.”
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is also in charge of the party’s affairs in Uttar Pradesh hit out at the Yogi Adityanath government. She alleged that there was something wrong in the intention of the state administration on the issue of women’s security.
Party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala termed the incident ‘horrific’ and ‘shameful for humanity’.
“How many more Nirbhayas? How much more of this monstrosity? When will the Adityanath government wake up? Where are our awakened journalists,” Surjewala said in a tweet in Hindi.
The Samajwadi Party also commented on the incident on Twitter. “Fifty-year-old anganwadi assistant, who had gone to offer prayers at a temple in Budaun, was gangraped and subsequently murdered. Those in power, who only make false claims of women security, should drown themselves. The guilty should be punished at the earliest and justice should prevail,” the party said.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati termed the incident ‘extremely saddening’ and ‘highly condemnable’.
“The state government should take the incident seriously and ensure stringent punishment to the guilty so that such cases are not repeated. This is the demand of the BSP,” Mayawati said in a tweet.