NCW summons BJP leader for offensive remarks against victim

New Delhi: The National Commission for Women (NCW) has summoned BJP leader Ranjeet Srivastava for reportedly making offensive remarks against the 19-year-old Dalit woman who died after allegedly being raped by four men in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras.

The NCW said it has sent a notice to Srivastava, asking him to appear before the commission on October 26. The commission tweeted, "@NCWIndia strongly condemns the offensive and defamatory remarks made by political leader #RanjeetSrivastava regarding the #Hathras victim. The Commission has sent him a notice directing him to appear before NCW on October 26th at 11 AM to give an explanation."

NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said Srivastava is "not fit" to be called a leader. "He is not fit to be called leader of any party. He is showing his primitive and sick mindset and I am going to send notice to him," Sharma tweeted.

According to media reports, Srivastava had allegedly character assassinated the Hathras case victim. Srivastava allegedly claimed that the four upper-caste men accused of brutally assaulting the 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras are "innocent" and that the victim's character was not "good."The controversial BJP leader, who has over 44 criminal cases against him, made this shocking statement in an interview to a news channel on Tuesday night.

He claimed that the teen was 'having an affair with the accused' and had called him to the millet field on September 14 (the day of the crime). However, the BJP leader did not stop there. He claimed that "such women are found dead in a few specific spots". "Such girls are found dead in only some places. They will be found dead in sugarcane, corn and millet fields or in bushes, gutters or forests. Why are they never found dead in paddy or wheat fields?" he asked.

He implied that crops like sugarcane, corn and millet are taller in height and can conceal a person while wheat and paddy grow up to only three or four feet in height.