Supreme Court to decide on judicial probe into Banda rape

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will hear a plea seeking judicial inquiry into the case of an alleged rape of a Dalit girl of Banda in Uttar Pradesh by ruling BSP MLA Purushottam Naresh Dwivedi.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia on Monday decided to hear the plea seeking a judicial probe into the incident.

Senior counsel Harish Salve raised the issue before the bench during the course of hearing of another application filed by former DGP of UP Prakash Singh on police reforms. The bench asked Salve to file a formal application before the court for the probe before Friday when it would examine it.

During the hearing of a plea for expeditious implementation of September 2006 directions of the apex court on police reform, Salve mentioned the incident involving BSP legislator Dwivedi and sought a judicial inquiry in it. He also sought the court’s directions for a probe report to the bench within a week.

48-year-old Dwivedi was arrested in Banda last week for allegedly raping a Dalit girl who earlier worked as his maid. The girl was allegedly raped on December 10 and 11 at the legislator’s residence from where she escaped on December 12 when the MLA allegedly attempted to rape her again for the third time.

Later, the girl was arrested on trumped up charges of theft following a complaint by the legislator’s brother. The girl confided in her brother about the incident, when she was produced before the court on December 24 on charge of theft.