Opposition seeks Akhilesh's resignation over Bulandshahr gangrape

Lucknow, Aug 1: Opposition parties on Monday demanded the resignation of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav over the gang rape of a Noida-based mother and daughter near Bulandshahr and also asked him to own up moral responsibility of the heinous crime.

Former Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati demanded a "personal explanation" from Akhilesh Yadav on whether "he would be able to return to lost honour of the victims".

Around six armed men stopped the family car on the Delhi-Kanpur highway early Saturday morning, according to the FIR registered later on Saturday. The armed men dragged the members to nearby fields and proceeded to rape the teenager and her 35-year-old mother.

The other members of the family were tied up, the FIR added.

"There is complete lawlessness in the state for the last four years and the chief minister has not only failed to spruce up the law enforcement machinery but has also failed to protect the women in the state," she said.

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Raj Babbar said the Bulandshahr incident was yet another blot on UP and sadly showed that there was 'jungleraaj' in the state, be it illegal mining, sale and manufacture of illicit liquor, land grabbing, dacoity, rapes.

"It is complete chaos under the watch of the chief minister," he said.

District president of the Rashtriya Lok Dal of Bulandshahr Rajiv Chowdhary said the crime was so heinous that Akhilesh Yadav should go beyond suspension of a few officials here and there and should rather quit himself.

Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said by merely talking of expressways and better highways, the chief minister was fooling the people and himself too as they were of no use when people travelling on them were unsafe.

"It is yet another sad day in UP. What is more worrying is the fact that neither the women helpline nor the 100 number of the police responded when the victims were calling them in distress" the BJP leader said.

National Womens Commission has also trashed the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) government in the state and a member said that in "Akhilesh rule, the compensation of a lost honour was Rs 1 lakh".

The panel, which sent a fact finding team to Bulandshahr on Sunday also questioned the lethargy of the police in reacting to the crime.

A member of NWC said that the police was non-cooperative and did not allow them to speak to the victims.

Meanwhile, UP police have claimed to arrest three accused and said that they were identified by the victims. A 300-member task forced was set up on Sunday to arrest the attackers.

The chief minister has also suspended the Bulandshahr Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishan, SP (City) Rammohan Singh, Circle Officer Himanshu Gaurav, SHO Ramsen Singh and four other officials for dereliction of duty.

IANS