Gujarat cops book BJP MLA for rape on HC's directions
Gandhinagar, Oct 19: An FIR on charges of rape and criminal intimidation was registered on Saturday against a BJP MLA from Gujarat following directions of the High Court.
The accused, Gajendrasinh Parmar, a former minister of state, was also booked under the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as the victim is a Dalit, the FIR stated.
The alleged incident occurred in July 2020.
The case was registered at Sector 21 police station in Gandhinagar under sections 376 (Punishment for rape) and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, days after the High Court questioned the police for not registering an FIR on the victim's complaint against the MLA, who represents the Prantij Assembly seat in Sabarkantha district.
The complainant stated that Parmar had called her to the MLA quarters in Gandhinagar on July 30, 2020, and established physical relations with her on the pretext of marrying her.
She claimed in the FIR that the MLA, subsequently, started ignoring her phone calls. Upon attending her call once, he used casteist remarks and threatened to get the woman kidnapped and harassed if she talked about their relationship, the FIR stated.
In 2021, the woman moved a special criminal application in the high court, requesting that the police be directed to register an FIR.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
