A day after Rajasthan saw massive protests over the deafening silence of the senior Congress party leaders over the horrific rape of the specially-abled girl at the Tijara flyover in Alwar, Rajasthan, the state police have rushed to conclude that the minor was not raped or abducted but reached the Tijara Bridge on her own.
Superintendent of Police, Alwar, Tejaswani Gautam said, “The panel of doctors submitted a report to the police in which they have said that injuries are not suggestive of any penetrative assault… So far, facts and technical information of medical experts suggest that there is no possibility of rape in the case.”
According to Alwar Superintendent of Police Tejaswani Gautam, the girl travelled about 25 kilometres from her hometown in an auto-rickshaw to arrive in Alwar. She then “walked alone” towards the Tijara Fatak bridge.
“We have been able to track the girl’s movements and traced the auto-rickshaw in which she travelled with 8-10 other passengers. A team of forensic experts have not found anything suspicious in the auto-rickshaw. The driver was interrogated and her co-passengers will be questioned,” PTI quoted the SP as saying.
Police claimed that while CCTV footage from numerous sites showed her strolling in many areas of the city and on the bridge, no camera detected her in a disturbed state on the bridge.
Police said that after scanning footage of over 250 CCTV cameras it was found that the girl visited many areas of the city and in one video, was seen sitting on the footpath. “In one of the videos, she is seen walking towards the bridge but there is no camera on the bridge where she was found in a distressed condition,” said the Alwar SP.
Apart from the CCTV footage and the statements of the auto driver and other residents in the vicinity, police claim they have uncovered nothing odd. “Right now, an inquiry is underway to determine what happened along the bridge,” said another police officer.
Child psychologists and professionals in dealing with people with special needs, interacted with the minor to learn more about what had transpired with her. But, because she was in pain, she didn’t answer. The police are currently working on a questionnaire that will be administered by professionals. While police say that there is little possibility of rape, Dr Pramila Sharma, a surgeon at the Jaipur hospital where the girl is admitted, said the wound at the perineum “was a very extensive wound”.
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who visited the hospital where the girl is admitted, said: “Doctors say what happened with ‘Nirbhaya’ (the 2012 Delhi gangrape victim), the barbarians have committed the same atrocity with her.” He was critical of police not being able to apprehend those behind the assault. It is pertinent to note that BJP had questioned Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for her silence as she has been vacationing at Ranthambore, Sawai Madhopur, with her husband and family even as protests have only grown.
Protests grow against Congress’ apathy towards Alwar rape incident
OpIndia reported on Friday how several people have taken to the streets of Rajasthan to protest against Congress’ apathy towards the Alwar rape incident. Videos have surfaced, where several protesters on Thursday reached outside the hotel in Rajasthan where Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi was staying for her birthday and raised slogans including ‘stop the torture against women’ and ‘who is against women- Congress party’ in Hindi.
Amidst slogans of “Priyanka Gandhi give justice”, “hang the accused” and slogans against the ruling Congress govt in Rajasthan, a protestor told the police officer how they were forced aside from the gates as they went to meet Priyanka Gandhi with their grievances.
At Jaipur’s Statue Circle, members of the Rajasthan Association of the Deaf have also been staging a protest against the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra slammed the grand old party saying that the incident exposes the opposition party’s hypocrisy in talking about women empowerment in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. Patra alleged that as soon as BJP leaders learned of the horrible incident, they raced to meet Priyanka Gandhi, but were denied access because the Congress politician was busy celebrating her birthday.