Himachal Congress seeks protection for rape survivor; BJP hails accused’s contribution to Sanatan Dharma

“We have secured five-day police custody of the accused. The court has allowed the police to question him in the presence of a doctor in the hospital. We have to confront him with certain evidence collected during the course of investigation,” Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh said.

Ram Kumar was arrested after an FIR under Section 64 (punishment for rape) and Section 68 (sexual intercourse by a person in authority) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 was registered on October 8 based on the complaint of a woman who has accused him of raping her on the pretext of a medical examination at his clinic in Solan. SP Singh on Friday had said that after receiving the complaint, the police conducted a preliminary investigation and forensic experts collected samples and other evidence. Other technical evidence was also analysed from the spot following which the accused was arrested. We found that the accused had torn the page of the register at his clinic where the antecedents of the victim were noted on October 7,” the SP had told The Indian Express.

The BJP state chief had termed the case “politically motivated”, saying the police had “fallen to their lowest standard” and defended his brother as a respected practitioner and philanthropist.

Meanwhile, addressing mediapersons in Shimla, Himachal Mahila Congress president Zainab Chandel termed the case as “high profile” and said the victim, who has shown courage to come forward and report the crime, should be given protection.

Questioning the silence of BJP leaders on the matter, she asked if Bindal would resign as state party chief on moral grounds or the BJP would remove him. Chandel accused the BJP of talking about saving women only in slogans and said that the reality is completely different.

Asserting that the state Mahila Congress stands with the survivor, she said, “We would meet the victim soon.”

Meanwhile, BJP Mahila Morcha president Daisy Thakur issued a statement, calling the incident “fabricated, manipulated, scripted and politically motivated”.

The allegations have nothing to do with the state BJP president, she said. “Everyone knows that the allegations levelled against Ram Kumar Bindal are far from truth as he is a social worker, a person who stands by people in their distress, a volunteer in every initiative and a significant contributor to the establishment of Sanatan Dharma,” she said.

Pointing out that the arrest was made within 48 hours of the registration of the case, Thakur claimed that a thorough investigation was not done, and the Congress leader jumping into the issue now “has made many things clear”.

The All India Democratic Women’s Association state president Veena Vaidya, in a statement, condemned the incident saying that it is shameful. Such a heinous act of a doctor sexually assaulting a patient under the guise of treatment can never be justified, she said, demanding an impartial investigation in the case.

With PTI inputs

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