Bhatta Parsaul rapes: Court orders FIR against 16 cops

A Uttar Pradesh court on Monday dismissed a petition challenging a lower court order directing the Greater Noida police to file a case against 15 policemen and a commandant for allegedly raping a woman during the crackdown on farmers opposing land acquisition in Bhatta-Parsaul villages.

The order came on complaints made by seven women who also swore on affidavits that they were raped. Earlier, the state police had refused to register any case of rape as the allegation was termed as an "afterthought" following the visit of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. In fact, it was Rahul who leveled the rape charge for the first time after which the entire Congress machinery got down to proving him right.

 For months, the allegations were taken with a pinch of salt until Monday when the court ordered registration of FIRs against 16 cops.

"The fact that a court has now directed the state government to register a criminal case against so many policemen clearly reflects the truth in Rahul Gandhi's statement," asserted Uttar Pradesh Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi.

She said, "The court order has also exposed the hollowness behind Chief Minister Mayawati's tall claims about good governance and proper law and order in the state. We have been demanding a judicial probe into the Bhatta Parsaul incident right from day one, but Mayawati continued to ignore our demand because she was aware of the police high handedness and vandalism resorted to by the cops in the fateful village.

She also demanded resignation of the Mayawati government.