A fabricated rape case in Champawat, Uttarakhand, has sparked a political battle between the Congress and BJP, with each accusing the other of manipulation and attempting to damage their reputation.
The Congress and BJP in Uttarakhand traded barbs over the alleged Champawat rape case after police said it was a fabricated case involving a minor girl linked to an old dispute.
While the Congress has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of dragging it into the case when it had no role in the controversy, the BJP blamed the Congress for attempting to tarnish the image of both the government and the ruling party through a baseless case.
On Wednesday, an individual in his written complaint with the police in Champawat alleged that three men had gang-raped his 16-year-old daughter in Salli village. She was also allegedly tied up naked and locked inside a room, he added.
Based on his complaint, the police registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against Vinod Rawat, Naveen Rawat, and BJP leader Puran Singh Rawat and initiated an investigation.
Champawat is the legislative assembly constituency of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Following the implication of a BJP leader in the case, the Congress staged protests at several locations, demanding the immediate arrest of the accused.
However, Champawat police on Thursday claimed that the alleged gang rape of the 16-year-old girl was a "well-planned conspiracy" hatched by a local man to settle personal scores with political rivals.
Police said the girl has also told the court now that no such incident had taken place.
According to the police, the incident was the result of a long-standing feud with the individuals originally named as the accused.
Following the investigation, the police first issued a clean chit to the originally named accused and subsequently registered a fresh case against Kamal Rawat, his female accomplice, Arjita Rai, and another associate, Anand Singh Mehra, they said.
They have been accused of holding the girl hostage, circulating a video of her on social media, and attempting, as part of a conspiracy, to falsely implicate innocent individuals in a criminal case, police said.
Kamal Rawat and Arjita Rai have been arrested and sent to jail, police added.
Mehra is an active Congress leader and a possible contender in the upcoming assembly elections, while Kamal Rawat was previously associated with the BJP.
Coming to the defence of Mehra, senior Congress leader and former chief minister Harish Rawat said that both parties involved in the conspiracy are linked to the BJP, yet the BJP is attempting to drag the Congress into the matter.
"I called for clippings from all the newspapers of Champawat and Dehradun, but nowhere did Anand Mehra's role as a conspirator appear," Harish Rawat said in a post on social media.
He asserted that Mehra's only transgression was that, upon receiving information about the incident from Kamal Rawat, he went to the police station and urged them to register a case under the POCSO Act.
The Congress leader noted that, like other youngsters, Mehra also highlighted the issue by creating Facebook Live videos and Reels, something that hundreds of other people did as well.
He pointed out that, for nearly 24 hours, this case was treated as an instance of gang rape.
He said, "If any Congress leader is indeed involved, that involvement should be exposed with concrete evidence. Targeting the messenger reflects the arrogance of power. The BJP is attempting to drag the Congress into its own internal disputes."
Issuing a warning to BJP leaders, he added, "Champawat is the land of Goljyu, the deity of justice."
Meanwhile, State BJP General Secretary Deepti Rawat asserted that the Champawat episode was a premeditated conspiracy, and that the Congress had attempted to tarnish the image of both the BJP and the state government under the guise of this baseless incident.
Deepti Rawat said the Congress is displaying irresponsible behaviour in this matter. Despite the investigation revealing the existence of a conspiracy, State Congress President Ganesh Godiyal and other leaders remain intent on maligning the BJP and the government.
The BJP leader claimed that the individual whose name has surfaced most prominently throughout this entire sequence of events is a Congress leader, Anand Mehra.
She alleged that Mehra has been constantly deviating from his statements and even levelling accusations against the girl herself, actions which clearly indicate that this conspiracy was hatched out of a political ambition to contest elections.
Deepti urged Kumari Selja, the Congress party's in-charge for Uttarakhand, to take cognisance of the issue, as a woman herself, and ensure that Godiyal tenders an apology.