Pregnant Rajasthan tribal woman stripped, paraded; husband among 8 arrested

A video of the August 31 incident had gone viral on social media late Friday night.

Banswara range Inspector General S Parimala told The Indian Express that the husband, who is the key accused, was enraged after the woman, who is four-five months’ pregnant, went to stay with another man two weeks ago. “For the past year, she had been living with the accused, who is her second husband,” the IG said.

Pratapgarh Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar Budaniya told The Indian Express on Saturday: “Her husband, along with his associates, reached the place where the woman was staying and abducted her before she was stripped and paraded.”

The SP said both the victim and the accused belong to a tribal community.

Rajasthan DGP Umesh Mishra said that those detained include a juvenile and people who witnessed the crime.

“The woman was earlier married to another man. Thereafter, as part of the custom of ‘Nata Pratha’, she started living with a second man, who is now the main accused in the case. He was enraged after she started living with another man,” said SP Budaniya.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the woman’s father said: “She was beaten up and her clothes were stripped. She was dropped at her home around 11-12 in the night by 4-5 people. One of the accused is her husband.”

The Opposition BJP slammed the Congress government in Rajasthan over the incident, with state BJP president C P Joshi saying it yet again shows how women are not safe.

Speaking in Pratapgarh on Saturday, Gehlot fired back: “It is a very unfortunate event. The main accused were arrested. We will take strict action because what could be more heinous than this? In such incidents, instead of doing politics, both ruling party and opposition should condemn in one voice so that a message goes in the society that everyone is united in condemning such incidents.   Prime Minister Narendra Modi compares this with Manipur. Politics was being done by taking names of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh. I want to tell the Prime Minister that Manipur was burning, there was a civil war, two women were stripped naked, paraded in presence of police and raped but you didn’t know about it for two months.”

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women said in a post on X that its chairperson Rekha Sharma has asked for a report from the Rajasthan DGP.

Rajasthan DGP Mishra said a five-member special investigation team under the supervision of ADG Crime will investigate all aspects of the case.

Rajasthan State Commission for Women chairperson Rehana Rayaz Chisti also said they have taken cognizance of the incident.

The Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission too issued a notice to the state government.

NCW to send probe team

New Delhi: Condemning the incident in Rajasthan’s Pratapgarh district in which a 21-year-old woman was allegedly stripped and paraded naked by her husband and in-laws, the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Saturday said it will send an inquiry committee to the state within the coming week to investigate the incident, especially in the light of the “rise in crime against women in the state”. In a statement, NCW noted that an FIR was not filed by Rajasthan police even two days after the incident. Stating that it “conducted a preliminary assessment” and found that the crime falls within the purview of IPC and IT Act, 2000, it sought charges under stringent sections of both. ENS