Buta Singh meets gang-rape victim

Dehra Dun, Jun 26 (UNI) National Commission for Scheduled castes Chairman Buta Singh arrived in the city here today to initiate investigations involving the gangrape of a Dalit girl in which two prominent BJP state leaders stand accused.

Mr Singh met the 22-year-old victim and recorded her testimony in which she accused several people, including BJP leaders Pramod Gupta and Ashok Kumar, of raping her in a hotel on the pretext of providing her a job in the Secretariat.

While the two BJP leaders have been arrested and remanded to 14-days judicial custody, the police have yet to dislose details about the arrest and identification of the other accused.

On Wednesday, the manager of the hotel where the victim was gangraped was also sent to judicial custody.

An NGO providing legal support and aid to the victim told Mr Singh that the police was adopting laxity in solving the case and claimed several influential people were trying to ''wrap it up''.

The victim, while fearing for her safety, told Mr Singh that she did not have full faith in the police and wanted to see all the accused arrested and behind bars immediately.

The case has sent shock waves throughout the state with welfare organisations demanding justice for the victim. Several senior leaders of the Opposition Congress have demanded a CBI probe into the case.

UNI PB SV HT1552