Azam Khan in trouble over his remarks on gang-rape of 14-year-old, her mother in UP's Bulandshahr
Highlights
- Azam Khan in trouble over remarks on gang-rape of teen, her mother in UP
- Teen moves Supreme Court seeking police complaint against minister
- The girl and her mother were gang-raped on a highway in Bulandshahr
A 14-year-old girl who was gang-raped near a highway in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr has moved the Supreme Court seeking police complaint against minister Azam Khan for his outrageous comments.
The girl, along with her family, was going to a funeral late on July 29, when armed men stopped their car, tied and beat up the men and gang-raped the girl and her 35-year-old mother for almost three hours.
Earlier this month, as a group of BJP leaders headed to Ghaziabad to meet the family, Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan bizarrely suggested an "opposition conspiracy".
"We need to investigate whether this is a conspiracy by opponents who want to defame the government," said Mr Khan.
"For votes, people can stoop to any level. There can be a Muzaffarnagar, a Shamli and Kairana... why not this? For power, politicians can murder people, trigger riots, kill innocent people, so the truth has to be found out," he remarked.
The BJP, in a sharp retort, said: "If you have an ounce of humanity, then try and catch the accused." The party also demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident.
In her petition, the teenager has also demanded that the court monitor a CBI probe in the case and has alleged that police officials were helping the accused.
Mr Khan in response to the petition said he said nothing offensive, but only spoke "like a politician".
"I cannot say anything on the Supreme Court or the survivor. I never said anything that would aggrieve the survivor. It is just how the media spins it. I am a politician and I spoke like one. In fact I condemned the incident as much as I could. The government has given as much administrative support to the family as possible," he said.
The state's Samajwadi Party government has been aggressively attacked by opposition parties who say Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav must resign for his failure to protect people in UP.
The 39-year-old cab driver whose family was attacked, said: "We don't want politics. We don't want politicians visiting. We want justice. My child has barely spoken since the attack."
Elections are likely to be held in Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state, early next year.