The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday expelled its leader and a member of Uttarakhand’s OBC Commission after he was booked in the alleged gangrape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Haridwar.
The BJP leader was among the two to be booked for the murder of the minor girl, Indian Express reported.
On Wednesday, BJP state general secretary Aditya Kothari issued an expulsion letter: “As per the instructions of BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt ji, Aditya Raj Saini, State Executive Member, OBC Morcha is expelled from the primary membership of BJP with immediate effect.”
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According to the police, the body of the victim was found on the Roorkee-Haridwar highway. In her complaint, the victim’s mother accused the local village head’s husband, a member of BJP’s Uttarakhand OBC Morcha and also part of the state government’s OBC Commission, and his accomplice of having raped and killed her daughter. The FIR names the accused as Aditya Raj Saini and Amit Saini.
Both suspects have been booked under several IPC sections including murder and gang rape as well as POCSO.
Haridwar Police have refused to reveal details of the case, saying only that it had given “necessary instructions” to SP City and set up five teams “for the speedy and successful disposal of the case”, IE reported.
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“All the formed teams have been given different tasks to collect scientific evidence and other proofs. The case is being investigated impartially. No laxity will be tolerated and no criminal involved will be spared,” Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police Pramendra Dobhal said.
Asked about the arrest of the accused, SP City Swatantra Kumar Singh said to The Indian Express that at present, those named in the case are suspects and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation. He also said that the cause of death will be confirmed in the postmortem report.
The Congress called the incident “chilling” and said the state’s law-and-order situation had gone “off the rails”.
“Uttarakhand is experiencing a rising number of crimes against women,” Uttarakhand Congress chief spokesperson Garima Mehra Dasauni said.
