Azam Khan Advises Silence to Rape Victim, Says it's a 'Disgrace'

NEW DELHI: True to his known attitude towards women, Samajwadi party leader Azam Khan has now kicked up a new controversy. This time he insulted a woman, who has allegedly been raped, by saying that she should not seek “fame and attention” for her “disgrace”.

The UP Minority Welfare Minister said these remarks while addressing a crowd during one ‘Gangaa ki Pukaar’ program in Kanpur after a ruckus was raised outside the venue by the victim and her advocate, along with a few women activists. The victim’s advocate said that she has been trying to reach Azam Khan with her plea for justice for months but police and administration people would not let her meet him.

“No one is paying any heed to our problems. We have been here since morning and have been trying really hard to meet with the minister. But the corrupt police and administration have been hell bent on ensuring that we are not able to reach him. We were not allowed to meet him,” the advocate said.

Khan, when heard about the commotion outside, made the remarks which further infuriated the victim. He said, “I will take her memorandum and go ahead but she sure has gained publicity now. Her complaint is clearly in connection to the disgrace she is facing but if she goes around spreading the incident that happened with her, how will she face the world?”

Speaking to ANI, the victim said that police is not helping her and there’s no point going to them as they just make her sit for hours and do nothing. A complaint of harassment was lodged instead of rape contrary to what she alleged. “I won’t go to Azam Khan now because I didn’t like what he said. It’s the unbecoming of a minister,” she further said.

The case was registered on 27th of July. According to the victim she was raped in a moving car after her husband was stabbed by a group of men, at least one of whom she identified by name.

"A man named Mohit raped me and there were five others with him. I had gone to the market and suddenly they pushed us in a car and started asking for money. They stabbed my husband and then started assaulting and raped me… After raping me, they threw me out of the car. When I gained consciousness, I called up the police. They came but did not help us. After that we went to meet Azam Khan to complain about the police for not taking action against the accused," she said to media.

As far as Azam Khan is concerned, such medievalism is not new to him. Earlier, he had blamed mobile phones for the increasing incidents of rapes. He had called the mobile phone technology a vice which facilitates communication and thus intimacy between men and women.