NCW will speak to woman ‘sexually abused’ by Hardik Patel

New Delhi: Amid the recent controversy over certain videos of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PASS) leader Hardik Patel, the National Commission for Women is all set to visit Surat in Gujarat to meet a girl who was allegedly being sexually exploited by the young leader.

A statement from the commission said that a team from the NCW, headed by chairperson Rekha Sharma, would be heading to Surat to meet a girl who, according to a complaint received by the women’s commission was being sexually exploited by Mr Patel.

However, the NCW clarified that the complainant in the case was not the victim, though she had agreed to speak with commission members and officials.

The complaint contains personal information about a girl who wishes to talk to the commission confidentially as she is scared to come forward.

NCW chief Rekha Sharma said will talk to the media once the team has spoken to the girl and investigated the matter thoroughly, the statement said.

It is interesting to note that the NCW had earlier also received and was examining a complaint by Delhi-based lawyer Gaurav Gulati over sex videos, purportedly of Mr Patel that had surfaced on social media.

The PAAS leader, who has joined hands with the Congress, for the Gujarat elections, has said the videos were morphed and had blamed the BJP for their leak. Mr Gulati had sent a complaint to the NCW on November 22, asking the commission to probe the matter and recommend the police to file an FIR against the guilty person. The NCW spokesperson on Sunday clarified that the current complaint to them was different from the one sent to them by Mr Gulati.