Naliya gangrape case: Survivor’s former husband accuses her of cheating, extortion

Kalpesh Momaya, a resident of Vada Paddhar village in Abdasa had given a written complaint to the office of superintendent of police of Kutch West on February 12. In his complaint, Momaya had alleged that her former wife cheated him in marriage by refusing to behave as his wife and by not fulfilling duties of a wife. He further stated that days after their marriage, she ran away with jewellery and even extorted Rs 25,000 for divorce. Besides his former wife, Momaya also named her parents and one Ismile Bhukhara of Kothara village in Abdasa taluka of Kutch as accused.

Momaya said that he had married to his former wife on January 31, 2016 after she got divorced from her first husband on January 13 that year. But she deserted Momaya on February 1 the same year. The couple got legally divorced 11 days later. It was second marriage for the woman. After divorcing Momaya, she tied the knot again with her first husband.

However, as police took time to act on his complaint, Momaya, a teacher at a private school approached the court of judicial magistrate (first class) in Naliya. Acting on his plea, the court of judge SS Brahmbhatt on Monday ordered Kothara police in Abdasa taluka to register an FIR against the four and directed circle police inspector to conduct the probe.

“Momaya had given us an application and he subsequently also moved the court. The honourable court has ordered us to file an FIR against the four and we shall abide by the order,” Kutch West SP Makrand Chauhan said on Monday.

The court order marks a new turn in the Naliya gang-rape case. The woman who had filed a case with Naliya police on January 25 this year alleging gang-rape by 10 men now herself faces police action. The 25-year-old woman had named as accused three BJP leaders and an unidentified man, who eventually turned out to be a sitting BJP councillor of Gandhidham municipality in Kutch. In her statement before a magistrate, the woman said the actual number of men who gang-raped her was nine. A special investigation team formed by Kutch West SP has so far arrested eight of the nine accused. Four of the arrested accused are BJP leaders whom the party had suspended after their names were linked to the case.

The woman, who is a native of Kutch but now lives in Mumbai has also alleged that some of the BJP leaders were involved in a sex racket in Kutch and that a number of girls had been exploited. She claims that Shantilal Solanki, a local office-bearer of BJP employed her in his gas distribution agency in Naliya in August 2015 but later he and his two friends gang-raped her. The accused shot video of the sexual assault and blackmailed her more more than a year and forced her to sleep with other six men. The arrested eight accused are presently in police custody.

Meanwhile, in a setback to the ongoing investigation in the Naliya gangrape case, the JMFC court in Naliya rejected police application seeking permission for subjecting eight rape accused to brain mapping test, lie detector test and brain electrical oscillation signature profiling. The court observed that permission for such tests can be granted in very serious cases only. But police said that they will challenge the Naliya court order before district and sessions court in Bhuj. “The court observed that permissions for such tests can be granted in serious cases like treason. However, we believe that the present case also touches issue of women empowerment and safety of society at large. Therefore, we shall challenge the JMFC court order before the sessions court,” Kutch West SP Makrand Chauhan said.