Left parties seek action against rape accused U'khand officer

Left parties today sharpened their attack on a Uttarakahand officer accused of sexual harassment of a woman and staged a protest here, demanding his suspension and probe by an independent agency.
Members of CPI(M), CPI, CPI(M-L), Uttarakhand Parivartan Party and Mahila Manch gathered at Deen Dayal Upadhayay Park here and protested against additional home secretary J P Joshi, who has been charged with rape of a 29-year-old woman on the pretext of giving her a job.
They also submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna in the matter.
They pointed out that their demands are important not only because of the involvement of a state government official but the fact that Joshi belongs to the Home Department which oversees the police.

It may also tarnish the image of the police department as people will not trust them with law and order in the state, they said.
The memorandum also states that in her complaint, the victim has accused involvement of Uttarakhand SP (Dehat) Jagdish Bhandari along with Joshi in the crime, for which she had to file a case in Delhi.

They have sought an independent agency to probe the matter so that the investigation is not influenced by any higher authority.
The woman had lodged an FIR in Delhi against Additional Secretary (Home) J P Joshi accusing him of raping her after promising her a job.

A case was registered at the Kotwali police station here on the basis of documents obtained from Delhi Police.