Agartala: The opposition CPM, Congress, and Trinamool Congress launched separate agitation demanding the resignation of Tripura Labour Minister and senior BJP leader Bhagaban Das from the cabinet for the alleged involvement of his son in a gangrape on Oct 19 at Kumarghat under Unokoti district.
Police on Sunday night arrested a third person in connection with the case.
Two persons including a lady who happened to be a leader of BJP’s women’s front were arrested a day after the incident following the registration of the FIR.
The investigation is undergoing and none of the accused will be spared if found guilty, said SP Unokoti Ms. Kanta Jangir.
The BJP denied the allegation and claimed there has been a conspiracy hatched against Das to malign him personally and defame the BJP-led government.
The party’s Spokesperson for the Unokoti district Debasish Sen said, “The FIR doesn’t have the name of Das’s son, and the accused has been absent in Kumarghat for over a week.”
Sen pointed out that BJP never indulged in such crimes and urged police to investigate the case quickly to book the main culprits behind the rape and also, to take action against the people intentionally pulling down minister Das into the incident for extracting political mileage.
However, Das has not responded yet to the allegation and clarified the matter.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Ashis Saha on Monday alleged that the gangrape happened in the building of Das where his 26-year-old son was the mastermind.
The 16-year-old victim was brought from her home by a woman leader of the BJP who was arrested.
The victim’s boyfriend Rajib Das – a member of the gang was mobilized to bring her into the building in the evening. She was gang-raped by the youths led by minister Bhagaban Das’s son in the building.
When the girl was not returned home till late at night and got to know that she was confined to the building by a gang, the family members stormed into the room and rescued her in critical condition.
The accused persons fled away before the family members reached. Later, when FIR has lodged allegedly, the victim’s family was pressurized not to mention the name of the minister’s son in the complaint, otherwise, it would create a serious problem for them in the coming days, Saha alleged adding that police are also trying to keep away the name of the minister’s son.
“Tripura has recorded 407 incidents of gangrape in two and half years, which is ever highest in the state – an average of 13 in a month.
As many as 307 girls had gone missing and 21 of them are still traceless during the period. But police action is almost nil in such cases because in all the cases BJP cadres were involved,” Saha alleged.
The Chief Minister has no reaction and Congress felt this government doesn’t have the morale to remain in power, as almost all the ministers of the cabinet were accused of serious nature of crimes and illegal activities, he said and added, “CM should ask Bhagaban Das to step down immediately, otherwise, we shall compel him to resign.”
The CPM Secretary Jitendra Chowdhury also demanded the immediate resignation of Bhagaban Das from the cabinet to allow for a proper investigation of the case.
In fact, the police couldn’t proceed with the case appropriately because of the pressure from the party in power and the main accused’s father is still a minister.
“Bhagaban Das should step down voluntarily to pave the way for investigation in such a heinous crime. His same son was found creating a public nuisance during the immersion of Devi Durga early this month in Kumarghat.
Several businessmen and police were assaulted by his gang but no action was taken, which encouraged the criminals to continue it,” Chowdhury added.
The Trinamool Congress demonstrated at Fatikroy Police Station demanding the arrest of Bhagaban Das’s son and ensuring adequate security for the victim and her family, as they have been getting continuous threats from the BJP cadres to publicly clean chit the minister’s son.
They also demanded the direction of the Governor to ask Bhagaban Das to resign.
