Will write to PM seeking Meghwal dismissal: NCW

The National Commission for Women Tuesday said it will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking dismissal of union minister Nihalchand Meghwal for being allegedly involved in a rape case.

Terming the case as "unacceptable", NCW chairperson Mamta Sharma said: "I will write to the prime minister and seek action against the minister. He must be immediately dismissed from the government."

When a minister commits a heinous crime like rape, the punishment meted out to him should be the same as that for a commoner, she told reporters.

Meghwal, union minister of state for chemicals and fertilisers and a BJP MP, was last Thursday summoned by a district court in Jaipur to appear in a rape case, in which the minister and 16 others are charged.

In 2011, a woman had filed a first information report in Vaishali Nagar police station of Jaipur, of sexual exploitation by Meghwal and 16 others, including her husband.

After investigation, the police closed the case in 2012, saying they found the charges to be false and fabricated.

Later, Jan 28, 2013, the woman challenged the police closure report in the court, which issued notices to all 17, asking them to respond by Aug 20.