Hubballi: Union minister Pralhad Joshi, leader of opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka, leader of opposition in the council Chalavadi Naranaswamy, and MLA Mahesh Tenginkai met family members of a BJP woman worker who was allegedly stripped off on Wednesday, and convened a meeting with police officials here on Friday. Speaking to reporters, Ashoka demanded a judicial inquiry into the strip-off case of the BJP woman worker. “If there are cases against the woman, let the police investigate them. However, stripping off any woman is unacceptable. How can a woman strip off herself when there were about 40 police personnel? What was the necessity of sending such a huge force to arrest a woman? Was she a terrorist? There are many doubts about the case, and hence a judicial inquiry should be ordered into the same,” he reiterated. He lamented that the police acted like Dushyasana with the woman. “If the woman stripped off herself, the concerned police present there, and the concerned police inspector and other officials should be dismissed from service,” he added. Taking the state govt to task, Ashoka said the menace of rowdy sheeters increased in the state after Congress came to power. “As many as 43,000 sexual harassment cases were registered in the last 2.6 years. If commoners go to any police station, they are treated like offenders, while offenders are given royal treatment at stations. The police who stripped off the BJP woman worker took a Congress corporator in an Innova car,” he asserted. Condemning the strip-off incident, BJP Mahila Morcha members staged a dharna at Ambedkar Circle and demanded the suspension of police involved in the incident. Addressing protesters, Opposition leader in the Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said that law and order completely collapsed in the state and all police stations became Congress offices. “Forget security, women are struggling to be alive because of misrule by Congress,” he added. Meanwhile, Vidyanagar Block Congress president Rajat Ullagaddimath and others released some videos of the woman assaulting a man, and alleged that MLA Mahesh Tenginkai was behind this episode, to strengthen his place in politics. Tenginkai responded that Congress leaders should reveal the shoot date of the video. “When she was in Congress, it was recorded. Congress should note that we are opposing only the incident of strip-off by police. If she is found guilty in other cases, let the law take its own course. They should also speak about corporator Suvarna Kallakuntla, who is convicted in a case,” he retorted.
