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Journalism of Courage
Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini is in the eye of a storm over the alleged kidnapping and public stripping of a Dalit woman member of a panchayat in Tonk district.
In a complaint filed with Tonk police, Sosar Devi Raigar, a representative of the Deoli Panchayat, has alleged that she was abducted and humiliated by BJP workers on Saini’s instructions to prevent her from voting against the party candidate in the recent elections for local bodies. And while the police have arrested several people accused in the complaint, Saini’s name has been struck off the FIR registered on Sosar Devi’s complaint.
In the FIR, Devi said she was forced off a tractor while on her way to cast the vote for panchayat pradhan on February 10. She was later dragged into the mustard fields in the village and beaten allegedly by the henchmen of Udai Lal Gurjar, the BJP candidate for the post. Later, she was stripped in public. Devi said the BJP workers would have killed her had not the local SP arrived in time. The Tonk SP, however, refused comment.
‘‘My abductors took me to a local resthouse where Saini threatened me to either vote for the BJP candidate or face the consequences,’’ she said. While Saini was not available for comment, Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria denied the allegations. ‘‘The CID has been asked to investigate the matter,’’ he said.
The inquiry was handed over to the CID a day after Deoli police registered three cases against BJP leaders and arrested six, including Udai Lal. ‘‘This was done at the insistence of Saini, who does not want the local police to investigate the matter,’’ Congress MLA Dr C.S. Baid said.
