Tribal Woman Stripped, Paraded Naked Is Rajasthan's Newest Flashpoint

The video of a tribal woman being stripped in public and paraded naked through a village in Rajasthan's Pratapgarh has triggered a political whirlpool in the state that is prepping for assembly polls in the coming months.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot condemned the incident in a late-night tweet on Friday and said: "In Pratapgarh district, a video of a woman being stripped naked by her in-laws due to a family dispute with her in-laws has surfaced. The Director General of Police has been instructed to send the ADG Crime to the spot and take the strictest action in this matter. There is no place for such criminals in a civilized society. These criminals will be put behind bars as soon as possible and will be tried and punished in the fast track court."

As the Opposition in the state amped its attack on the ruling Congress, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced he would visit Pratapgarh this evening to meet the victim's family.

Mr Gehlot's MLA from the Dhariyawad Assembly, Nagraj Meena, said, "I came to know about this incident around 9 pm on Friday. I held a discussion with the District Collector and the District Superintendent of Police... The incident cannot be condemned enough. Such incidents should not happen. The police will take immediate action on this."

The BJP has launched an all-out attack on the ruling Congress over the horrific crime against the 21-year-old tribal woman perpetrated allegedly by her husband and in-laws over the suspicion of an affair.

The ruling party is "busy settling factional squabbles", BJP chief JP Nadda said in an apparent reference to the power tussle between Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot.

"The remaining time is spent appeasing one dynasty in Delhi," he added, fuelling the party's long-standing fight against dynastic politics of the Congress.

"The people of Rajasthan will teach the state Government a lesson," Mr Nadda prophesied, pointing to the upcoming state elections.

Earlier, Union Minister and a BJP leader from Rajasthan - Gajendra Singh Sekhawat - tweeted the alleged video of the shocker and said that the incident has laid bare the hypocrisy of the Congress. He asked if Rahul Gandhi would seek Ashok Gehlot's resignation and demand President's rule in the state, as he drew parallels to the Opposition's demand when a horrific video from Manipur showed women being paraded naked through the streets before being allegedly gang-raped in the adjacent fields. Manipur has been witnessing a long-drawn ethnic strife between the Meitei and the Kuki communities.

"In Rajasthan, all the limits of inhumanity on women have been crossed. In Dhariyavad, a woman has been stripped and beaten, the video of which is viral, but Gehlot ji, who makes tall claims on women's safety, is the Chief Minister and Home Minister of which state? Two days have passed, and the police have not even prepared the report! The hypocrisy of the Congress has been exposed now. Where is Rahul Gandhi? When will he come to Dhariyavad? When will he seek Ashok Gehlot's resignation and demand President's rule in Rajasthan?" Mr Shekhawat tweeted.

A woman was beaten, stripped naked, and paraded through her village in Rajasthan's Pratapgarh district allegedly by her husband on Thursday, the police said. In a shocking video of the assault, a man is seen stripping the 21-year-old woman in front of people and parading her naked through the village.

According to the police, the woman was allegedly in a relationship with another man, which triggered the attack on her.

She was allegedly kidnapped by her in-laws, who were unhappy since the woman was living with another man, and taken to their village where she was beaten and paraded naked, Rajasthan's Director General of Police (DGP) Umesh Mishra said.

Seven people have been arrested so far in the case, including the woman's husband, the police said, adding that four people have been detained.