Khandu rape accuser to approach PM, President for intervention

A woman, who has accused Arunachal Pradesh Chief Pradesh Pema Khandu of raping her in 2008, on Saturday said she will approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind to seek justice.

The Arunachal Pradesh woman has taken the decision to write to Modi and Kovind after her appeal to the National Commission of Women (NCW) for its intervention in the case was dismissed by it on February 20, she told reporters here.

She also rejected the charge made by Khandu earlier this week that her accusation is "politically motivated" and "false" saying her fight is not against any political party but a person.

"I had filed the case against him (Khandu) in 2015 when he was in Congress party... I am not fighting against any political party but against a man," she said.

Khandu, who is in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2016, was earlier in Congress.

She said she fears for her and her husband's safety back home and will stay in Delhi for some time.

Dismayed by the rejection of her plea by the NCW, the woman accused the organisation of "working on behalf of Khandu" and contended that a copy conveying the rejection of the plea to her was also sent to the Chief Minister, which was put on Facebook by a party worker.

"NCW gave us hope... (NCW Chairperson) Rekha Sharma spoke to us very well. But it changed colours during those five days between our filing the plea and the reply made by it," she said.

The victim had filed the plea with the Commission on February 15. Earlier her case was rejected by the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate in 2016 in Yupia, which dismissed the case as "devoid of any merit". But the victim has claimed that the case was dismissed without hearing her deposition and without any inquiry.

The Arunachal Civil Society-- an NGO which is helping her in her fight -- has decided to approach a superior court as the matter was dismissed by the Yupia court stating that it was not under its jurisdiction.

"In Tawang, the case is not being pursued by police or judiciary due to the influence of Khandu. So we will approach the superior court and urge that the case be heard outside the state," said Arunachal Civil Society Chairman Patey Tayum.

--IANS

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