A team of the Jharkhand Police has been camping in Raipur since November 28 to arrest Brahmanand Netam, the BJP's candidate in the upcoming Bhanupratappur Assembly bypoll in Chhattisgarh, who is an accused in a 2019 POCSO case registered in Jharkhand. The case relates to the gangrape of a girl, who was nine when she was first raped, after which she was allegedly trafficked and sexually assaulted by multiple accused in several locations across at least four states – Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Odisha. “Of the 10 accused in the case, we have arrested five so far and chargesheeted them. The trial began on May 20. The remaining five, including Brahmanand Netam, will be arrested soon,” East Singhbhum SSP Prabhat Kumar told The Indian Express. The five accused, including Netam, who are yet to be arrested are all from Chhattisgarh. Though they were not named in the FIR filed in 2019, their names were later added, based on Jharkhand Police's investigation, as “accused not named in the FIR”. Police said that though Netam is an accused in the case, his role in the crime is still being investigated. In 2019, then East Singhbhum SP Subhash Chandra Jat wrote a supervisory note to the Investigating Officer, asking for all the accused to be arrested. "The Investigating Officer is ordered to arrest remaining accused after verifying their names and addresses. And in case they are absconding, then confiscate their properties.” According to court and police records, the child, now 18, was first raped allegedly by her brother-in-law in 2013, when she was nine. The then SP's 2019 note says the minor's sister did not believe her account and instead allegedly beat her up regularly. She narrated her ordeal to a neighbour, who got her employed at a shop in East Singhbhum district. The note read: “The store owner too raped her. Following this, the neighbour, with the help of the store owner, then took her to Raipur. There, they put her up in a flat where one of the accused promised her a job. Instead, she was raped by eight persons.” Court records say she was later brought back to Jharkhand, where another woman assured her of a job, but she was raped allegedly by a policeman. “The woman kept the minor at her home for 10 days, where two to four persons would rape her everyday. Later, she was taken to Rourkela (Odisha), where too she was raped. The accused kept her at a hotel in East Singhbhum and were planning to take her to Kharagpur (West Bengal), when the hotel owner alerted police,” the SP's note said. According to the police, the girl kept mobile numbers of the accused in a diary. “She would also draw a line for every person (who raped her),” the note said. On November 28, Jharkhand Police that's camping in Chhattisgarh issued a notice to Netam, asking him to appear before them. Sources in the police say that while Netam didn't appear or reply to the notice, he sent word that he would cooperate after the elections are over on December 5. The notice read, “This is to inform that a case against you (84/2019) is registered. under sections of gangrape, rape, POCSO Act, and under Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, among others. Hence, please cooperate in the investigation and be present on November 29 at 10 am in Camp Kanker Police Station.” Netam did not respond to a request for comment from The Indian Express. On Wednesday, Congress attacked Netam's candidature, with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhaghel tweeting a poster of Netam with PM Modi and saying, “BJP is insulting the PM by using his photograph along with that of a rape accused. The country won't tolerate this insult of our PM. Preserve the sanctity of the PM's post by voting against the BJP).” Ajay Chandrakar, chief spokesperson of Chhattisgarh BJP, told The Indian Express, "Jharkhand Police didn't take any action against Brahmanand Netam in last three years, and suddenly, Congress brings up this issue during election. The police have given him a notice, and he has responded that he will be present. Congress is distracting people from tribal community.” Bhanupratappur, a ST reserved constituency, votes on December 5.
