NCW Not to Pursue Rape Complaint Against Arunachal CM, He Says He Is Vindicated

ITANAGAR: The National Commission for Women (NCW) will not be pursuing the complaint filed by a woman alleging that Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu along with three others had raped her in Tawang in July 2008, and instead recommended that the woman take the court route.

The woman had last week filed a complaint with the NCW about the alleged gang-rape. On February 20, the NCW wrote to the woman stating that “keeping in view the fact that the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Capital Complex at Yupia, had already decided the case on 30 May 2016 and concluded that in the light of the entirety of the facts as summarised in the aforesaid order, the complaint filed under Section 156(3) of the Criminal procedure code is devoid of any merit and complainant is not entitled for the orders as prayed for”.

While the NCW said that it “does not have the mandate to entertain such a complaint after a decision on merit by the chief judicial magistrate” and that the “the remedy, in the event of a matter having been adjudicated upon by the judicial authority would be to file an appeal in the superior court”.

Khandu, meanwhile, said that he was “shocked and saddened by these false allegations” and that the allegations are “politically-motivated”.

A statement from the chief minister’s office said that the NCW’s decision “to refuse to entertain the complainant’s appeal is a blatant blow to malicious attempts by elements bent on maligning the image of a person through false allegations” and that “every sensible person should reject and condemn such lowly acts of dirty politics”.

The statement said that the woman had “first lodged a complaint in December 2015, seven years after the alleged crime. The present chief minister was just a common man minding his own business in 2008 when the alleged incident is claimed to have occurred”.

It added that “the Itanagar police immediately made a preliminary enquiry on receipt of the complaint. The complainant then approached the CJM” which had dismissed the case.

“The entire episode at this moment is in public domain for scrutiny and the CMO believes that citizens of the state can now clearly see through the conspiracy being hatched against the chief minister who is growing in popularity by the day for his strict and bold decisions to streamline governance and root out corruption,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, the woman had earlier spoken to the media and compared her scenario with the Nirbhaya rape case of 2012 and said that she too is an “Indian daughter” seeking justice.