Jaipur: Facing media pressure and political
campaign, the Rajasthan government on Wednesday asked a special wing
of the police to trace and arrest a former IPS officer accused
of raping a tribal woman 13 years ago and absconding.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot told reporters here that this
was a "serious incident" and the Special Operations Group of
the state police has been asked to arrest former DIG Madhukar
Tandon for allegedly raping the woman in 1997.
"We have directed the SOG to arrest the accused and hope
the victim will get justice", Gehlot said adding "there is a
trial in the court and the accused is absconding".
He said issue of the rape victims waiting for justice for
13 years was "very serious" and the government was trying to
arrest the accused.
Home Minister Shanti Dhariwal said the government would
also go into how Tandon had got out of the clutches of law and
who are responsible for it.
"This is a serious matter. The accused has not been
arrested since 1997...Those who had information about him, why
didn`t they do anything?...we will go into the matter",
Dhariwal said.
The woman was allegedly abducted to Noida in Uttar
Pradesh in January 1997 and raped there by the former IPS
officer, then posted in the police headquarters here.
Meanwhile, thousands of protesters blocked the
Jaipur-Agra highway in Dausa district, 57 km from here, after
their MP Kirori Lal Meena (Independent), who was on a dharna
here seeking justice for the tribal woman, was arrested along
with 13 others in the wee hours today.
Justifying the arrest of Meena, Gehlot said the Dausa MP,
despite invitation for talks from the government opted to sit
on Dharna yesterday and should have acted within the limits of
law.
"We respect Dr. Kirori but there must be rule of law and
not of individual. If Meena being an MP disturbs law and
order, what message the public will get? I had invited him for
talks but he went on a dharna," Gehlot said.
PTI
