India News | Jharkhand Cops Arrive in Chhattisgarh in Connection with 2019 Rape Case in Which BJP Bypoll Candidate is an Accused
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Days after the ruling Congress claimed Brahmanand Netam, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate for the December 5 Bhanupratappur bypoll in Chhattisgarh, was an accused in a rape case in Jharkhand, police from the neighbouring state arrived here on Monday to investigate the offence lodged in 2019.
Kanker, Nov 28 (PTI) Days after the ruling Congress claimed Brahmanand Netam, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate for the December 5 Bhanupratappur bypoll in Chhattisgarh, was an accused in a rape case in Jharkhand, police from the neighbouring state arrived here on Monday to investigate the offence lodged in 2019.
The police team's arrival triggered a political storm with the opposition BJP accusing Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel of hatching a conspiracy by colluding with the Hemant Soren-led government in Jharkhand to malign Netam's image fearing defeat in the byelection.
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A police team from Telco police station in Jharkhand on Monday contacted Kanker police to trace the whereabouts of accused Brahmanand Netam, Keshav Sinha, Naresh Soni and Deepankar Sinha in connection with a rape case lodged there in 2019, a senior Chhattisgarh police official said.
The case was lodged under sections 366 A, 376, 376 (3), 376 AB, 129B of Indian Penal Code and sections 4 and 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, he said.
"The (Jharkhand police) team carried out searches at various places in the district and further action is underway. None of the four accused have been arrested so far," he added.
As soon as the information of the arrival of Jharkhand police spread, the BJP leaders, including former ministers Brijmohan Agrawal, Kedar Kashyap, Premprakash Pandey and Vikram Usendi reached the party's election office in Bhanupratappur.
Netam, a resident of Charama town which falls in Bhanupratappur Assembly constituency, also arrived there.
Talking to reporters, Brijmohan Agrawal said, "Anticipating defeat in the bypoll, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel conspired with the Jharkhand government to defame Netam. If Bhupesh Baghel had the courage and wanted to protect democracy, then he would have told the Jharkhand government to not to take action till the bypoll is underway."
"But the Baghel government hatched a conspiracy to malign Netam's image. The Congress' act has insulted the tribal community and people of Bhanupratappur. The entire tribal community and people of Bhanupratappur will teach a lesson to Congress. Even if Netam is arrested and put behind bars, he will emerge victorious in the bypoll," Agrawal claimed.
On November 20, state Congress chief Mohan Markam had claimed Jharkhand police had lodged a case at Telco police station in Jamshedpur on May 15, 2019 in connection with a 15-year-old girl being allegedly pushed into the flesh trade and raped by several persons.
As per Markam, five persons were held in the case initially, while Netam and four others were also named as accused.
Markam had also submitted a complaint to the Returning Officer (RO) seeking cancellation of the candidature of Netam for allegedly concealing the offence case registered against him in his election affidavit. Netam had refuted the charges.
The bypoll to the Scheduled Tribe-reserved Bhanupratappur seat in Kanker district was necessitated due to the death of Congress MLA and deputy speaker of the Assembly Manoj Singh Mandavi last month.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)