Naming Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu as one of the men who allegedly raped her 10 years ago, a woman approached the Supreme Court on Wednesday to seek protection and pursue legal remedies in the Delhi High Court. Earlier, a local court in Arunachal Pradesh dismissed her complaint to lodge an FIR against the CM.
Keeping the name of the victim confidential, her lawyer P Sriram said that this is an extraordinary relief being sought by the victim as she fears for her and her husband's life after learning that "the perpetrator of her crime" was the sitting CM.
According to him, the then 15-year-old victim from a poor family was brought to the Circuit House at Tawang by a man who promised her a job. She was then introduced to three other men, including Khandu, who identified himself as an Army Colonel. She was later raped by the four men. For four years hence, she was afraid to report the matter and so did not file any complaint. In 2012, she realized that Khandu was not a colonel but a state minister, but it was only in 2015 that she approached the local police. After her complaint was rejected, she approached the Yupia Chief Judicial Magistrate. He, too, dismissed her application on May 30, 2016. She has appealed against this order.
