Revealing the name of the fourth accused in the Kopardi minor rape and murder case, NCP leader Ajit Pawar demanded in the state Assembly that he should be arrested.
Revealing the name of the fourth accused in the Kopardi minor rape and murder case, NCP leader Ajit Pawar demanded in the state Assembly that he should be arrested. Mr Pawar also pointed out that the accused, Vijay Lakshman Shinde, was involved in a murder case in the past, which was not probed properly. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis later said that he would instruct the police to check on the fourth accused and re-open the murder case in which Shinde was allegedly involved in the past.
“It was unfortunate that immediate action was not taken in the case. I was told that guardian minister of the district, Ram Shinde, was busy inaugurating a hotel rather than meeting the victim’s family members. Fourth accused Shinde has not been arrested yet. He was also involved in a murder committed on December 16, 2015. But, the police registered the matter as unnatural death. If Shinde would have been arrested then, the minor’s rape could have been avoided,” Mr Pawar said in a discussion on the rape case.
The NCP leader also demanded that the accused be hanged till death to send a signal to society and that the case be tried in a fast-track court. Mr Pawar said that merely transferring police officers would not help, but action needs to be taken against them. He urged the government to make a strong case against the accused so that they are given the death sentence.
The chief minister, in his reply, said, “We will inquire about the involvement of the fourth accused in the rape case. Also, earlier charges against him in a murder case will be checked afresh by the CID.”
Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil blamed the chief minister for the rape case and demanded his resignation. Meanwhile, Mr Shinde clarified that he did not attend any hotel inauguration, but visited the victim’s family on June 16. “I admit that I went late to console the family, but I was the first to reach out to them. I did not inaugurate any hotel,” he said.
Earlier, in the day, the Assembly was adjourned twice as the Opposition wanted immediate discussion on the rape case setting aside all the work of the house. The Opposition members also walked out of the House over not receiving a “satisfactory” reply from the chief minister on the issue.
