Cong questions Shivraj’s silence over minor’s rape incident in Ujjain

New Delhi: Condemning the brutal rape of a 12-year-old minor girl belonging to Dalit community in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress on Friday questioned the silence of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the state’s home minister Narottam Mishra over the spine-chilling incident.

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters, the party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate condemned the indifference and inaction of the police -- first in Satna and then in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. ‘Timely action by the police may have saved the minor from the trauma she was subjected to,’ she said, adding that there were deliberate attempts to hide the Dalit identity of the girl, pointing out how it was initially stated that the girl was from Uttar Pradesh and that she was mentally challenged and was a beggar.

‘The matter of fact is that the girl belongs to Satna in Madhya Pradesh and hails from a Dalit family and was wearing a school uniform. There was no question of her begging or being mentally challenged,’ she added.

In scathing attack on BJP-led government, the Congress spokesperson said that Madhya Pradesh had turned into a jungle raj under the 18 years of BJP rule as 58,000 rape cases had been reported from the state during the last 18 years, which comes to eight rapes a day.