Rahul Gandhi demands CBI probe into Dalit girl's murder

Barmer, April 13: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today charged that efforts were being made to suppress the case of rape of a 17-year-old Dalit girl who was later found dead in Bikaner and said CBI should probe the incident in order to provide justice to the family.

Gandhi, who visited the aggrieved family in Tirmohi village with PCC president Sachin Pilot, former MP Harish Chaundhary and other leaders, said the girl's father was not satisfied with the action taken by the police.

"I met with the father and other family members who are demanding a CBI inquiry in the matter. They are not satisfied with the police. The family thinks that injustice has been done to them and they want justice. They are asking only for justice and this will be done by CBI probe," Gandhi told reporters after spending nearly half an hour with the family.

"She was the daughter of the country. Like the case of Rohith Vemula was suppressed, this case is also being suppressed. I want to say to the chief minister of Rajasthan that the only way to give the girl and her family justice is to refer the case to CBI," he said.

Gandhi met with the girl's family, outside their one-room house where a tent was erected, in presence of relatives and other locals. He went through an album containing the pictures of the girl, who was found dead on March 30 in a water tank in the educational institution in Bikaner where she was was pursuing BSTC training to become a teacher.

Gandhi had reached the village by road after arriving in a plane at Uttarlai air base in Barmer. The father of the girl, Mahendra Ram, demanded a CBI inquiry into the case, saying he has no faith and confidence in the probe conducted by the state police.

"The government's attitude is apathetic and police is also trying to dilute the case. It was a murder but the police are saying it was suicide. I have no faith in the probe by the local police therefore I demand CBI inquiry for an impartial investigation," Ram said.

"I want justice for my daughter and that will be only through impartial probe. The local police is diluting the case, the state government has neglected our demand but Rahul Gandhi listened to our demands and arriving here," he said while expressing hope that Gandhi would raise this issue.

"I wanted my daughter to be well educated so I allowed her to go to Bikaner for the course. She was a bright and intelligent girl but she was murdered," he said. The girl was allegedly found in the room of physical trainer and instructor Vijendra Singh on the night of March 29 by the hostel warden and next morning she was found dead in the water tank.

After her parents lodged an FIR, Singh was arrested on March 31 for allegedly raping the girl. Later, the hostel warden and the principal were also arrested under POCSO act for failing to inform the police when they found the girl in the instructor's room.

Referring to the postmortem report, Bikaner District Police said she died after drowning in the water tank. Police have ruled out the possibility of murder in the case.

PTI