AIFB allows rape convict B S Mahato to resign LS

New Delhi, May 18 (UNI) The All India Forward Block (AIFB) has allowed its Lok Sabha MP Bir Singh Mahato to resign after he was convicted by a lower court in a 1982 gang rape case.

The party's General Secretary Debabrata Biswas in a statement issued here today, stated that Mr Mahato was the National General Secretary of the Agragami Kisan Sabha which fights against the land lords and moneylenders to protect the rights of tribals. This movement has imparted a great strength to the Left forces in tribal areas of Purulia district.

Through the movement the tribals could earn their valuable rights on their own land, he said adding that the right reactionary forces of landlords and moneylenders aimed to conspire against their leader Mr Mahato in a fake gang rape case as early as in 1982, which ultimately resulted in a ten years rigorous imprisonment for Mahato and three other leaders by the Purulia district court.

He said the party has filed an appeal against the order before the Kolkata High Court.

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