Belagavi stripping case: ‘Insensitive’ BJP leaders visited victim flouting court restriction, says K’taka CM
Bengaluru: Taking objection to the Central fact-finding meeting of a Dalit woman who was recently stripped naked and paraded in a village in Belagavi district, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday that the act showed the team members’ ‘insensitivity’ towards the victim.
“Despite restrictions put in place by the Karnataka High Court, the BJP leaders visited the victim woman. They not only flouted the court’s direction but also displayed their insensitivity,” Siddaramaiah said.
Taking suo-motu cognisance of the incident, the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court had suggested on Saturday morning that visits to the traumatised woman, who is severely distressed, should be restricted.
This directive was issued in the context of news about political leaders planning to visit the victim woman, Siddaramaiah said.
“Considering that the woman is receiving medical treatment, interactions with visitors could impact her health. Therefore, the high court has stated that it is necessary to restrict visits for her well-being,” he added.
The high court has ordered that no individual, group, political party, or others should visit the woman without prior written permission from the chief medical officer of the hospital responsible for her treatment, the Chief Minister said.
“Despite this, the BJP leaders, in a move to use a tragic incident for political gain, have visited the victim in the name of ‘truth-seeking’. This shows their blatant disregard for the court’s order. The insensitivity and lack of respect shown by the BJP leaders and their national President J.P. Nadda, who sent the Central team, must be condemned by everyone,” the Chief Minister said.
Siddaramaiah’s remarks came after delegations from the National Commission for Women (NCW) and the five-member fact-finding committee of BJP MPs met the victim, who was stripped and paraded naked in Belagavi district on December 10.