Karnataka woman’s assault: BJP forms fact-finding team, CM questions its ‘sudden awakening’

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, also condemned the incident on social media.

“In @INCIndia there is no ‘nyay’ for the SCs and STs. The recent incident in Belagavi, Karnataka falls in the same category as those repeated atrocities against the Dalits seen till recently in Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. For Congress the downtrodden are just a votebank,” Sitharaman posted.

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah meanwhile accused the BJP of using the incident of the violence against a woman for political gain.

Responding to the BJP, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said: “As soon as the Belagavi incident came to light, our home minister G Parameshwara and Minister for Women and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar visited the survivor’s home not only to console her but also to provide compensation. The police apprehended the culprits within 24 hours and put them behind the bars.”

“I am personally overseeing the investigation. Our government is committed to ensuring such inhumane acts do not occur by meting out strict punishment to the guilty,” he said.

“The violence inflicted on a woman and her family members in Belagavi is highly condemnable. It is shameful that BJP President Nadda is exploiting such an incident for political gain,” the Karnataka CM said. “The state BJP leaders are also satisfied with the measures taken by the state government.”

Incidentally, the BJP in Karnataka did not raise the issue of the violence against the woman in the Belagavi winter session of the state legislature which concluded on Friday.

“Nadda’s sudden awakening and his attempt to stir up this case four days after the incident indicate a political motive rather than genuine concern for women,” Siddaramaiah said.

The incident, that occurred early on Monday, resulted in the Karnataka High Court taking suo motu cognizance Wednesday. A division bench consisting of the Chief Justice Prasanna Varale and Justice MGS Kamal expressed shock at the incident.

“How does this happen? On one hand we are celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav and after 75 years this is the situation? We can only borrow the words of Shakespeare in Hamlet and say – ‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark’,” the bench said.

The bench passed an interim order against displaying any video or interaction with the victim which might disclose her identity.

A police officer said the incident took place between 1-3 am on Monday. “The victim’s 24-year-old son was in a love relationship with an 18-year-old girl and her marriage was scheduled on Monday as her family had arranged the marriage with another man. But the couple ran away before the scheduled engagement ceremony.”

The relatives of the girl attacked the mother, 42, who was at her residence. They stripped her naked, paraded and later tied her to an electric pole to assault her. Kakati Police visited the spot and contained the situation. The victim was shifted to a hospital in Belagavi for treatment.