BSF inspector suspended over allegations of rape of lady constable
Kolkata (PTI): A BSF inspector has been suspended and a departmental probe was initiated against him over allegations of rape of a lady constable at a border outpost in Kishanganj area in West Bengal, a senior official of the force said on Tuesday.
The inspector posted at Tungi border in Nadia district outpost allegedly raped a lady BSF constable inside the premises on February 19, he said.
The incident came to light following a tweet by TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh, who asked the BJP Bengal unit to react to it.
"The incident was reported on that day itself. The inspector was suspended and a departmental probe was initiated against him," the BSF official said.
The lady constable was sent for a medical examination at a government hospital. She has also lodged an FIR, he said.
Ghosh tweeted, "A lady BSF constable has been raped by BSF Commander in Krishnagunj, Nadia Camp. BSF brought the victim to SSKM; then a zero FIR has been lodged in Bhabanipur PS. The Commander is suspended. Now, what will BJP say?"
The BJP-led central government amended the BSF Act in 2021 to authorise the force to undertake search, seizure and arrest within a larger 50 km stretch, instead of 15 km, from the international border in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam. It snowballed into a major political issue in Bengal with the ruling TMC passing a resolution in the state assembly opposing the Centre's decision.
The BSF official when asked declined to divulge further details about the BSF inspector till the departmental probe is over.
"We have zero tolerance towards such allegations," he asserted.
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Gujarat HC grants fresh bail to Asaram for 3 months on medical grounds after split verdict
Ahmedabad, Mar 28 (PTI): The Gujarat High Court on Friday granted fresh temporary bail for three months to self-styled godman Asaram, who is serving life imprisonment in a rape case, on medical grounds following a split verdict.
The Supreme Court had on January 7 granted interim bail to Asaram till March 31 in this case registered by the Gujarat police. At present, he is undergoing ayurvedic treatment in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
As the three-month period was coming to an end on Monday, his lawyers moved the high court seeking bail for another three months, starting from April 1.
The matter came up before a division bench of Justice Ilesh J Vora and Justice Sandeep Bhatt earlier in the day.
After hearing both sides, the bench gave a split verdict as Justice Vora granted him bail while Justice Bhatt expressed a dissenting view and dismissed the application.
The matter was then listed before a third judge, Justice A S Supehia, in the afternoon.
His lawyer senior advocate Shalin Mehta argued that 86-year-old Asaram was suffering from heart and kidney ailments, and the only treatment available to him was ayurvedic `panchakarma'.
The treatment at a Jodhpur-based ayurvedic facility had only just begun and would take another three months, the lawyer said.
The SC, while passing the bail order in January, had given liberty to Asaram to approach the Gujarat HC for any relief on medical grounds after March 31, he pointed out.
After getting relief here, his client will have to approach the Rajasthan High Court to get bail in another case, advocate Mehta said, adding that otherwise Asaram will have to go behind bars in Jodhpur on April 1.
Advocate Hardik Dave, representing the Gujarat government, argued that though the state was not against Asaram getting treatment, the HC needed to verify if he really needed it.
After going through the documents on record, Justice Supehia granted Asaram bail for three months, noting that he had not fully recovered yet, and had not misused his previous bail.
After the apex court on January 7 granted interim bail to Asaram in the case of rape registered by the Gujarat police, the Rajasthan High Court granted him interim bail in the Jodhpur rape case. He was released late on the night of January 14.
Asaram's interim bail marks a temporary release after spending more than 11 years in jail.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2018 for raping a girl at his ashram in Jodhpur in 2013.
In 2023, Asaram was convicted by a court in Gujarat for raping a woman disciple at his ashram in Motera area of Ahmedabad.
