Congress Criticizes Maharashtra Govt Over Badlapur Encounter Incident

Congress leader Surendra Rajput criticized the Maharashtra government for its handling of the alleged 'encounter' of a rape accused in Badlapur. The incident has led to significant political discourse, with various voices questioning the response of the state government and the police's actions.

Congress leader Surendra Rajput criticized the Maharashtra government on Tuesday over the 'encounter' of a rape accused in Badlapur, stating that the administration has 'failed miserably.' Speaking to ANI, Rajput drew parallels between police encounters in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, suggesting the Maharashtra government is ineffective.

'See, it is very clear that Uttar Pradesh is in the same condition as Maharashtra today, where the accused are firing bullets at the police and the police have become answerable. The government of Maharashtra has failed miserably if the accused dared to fire at the police. The public is watching everything, and they know that the current government of Maharashtra is not capable of anything. The time will change everything, the Maharashtra government cannot do anything,' Rajput stated. The controversy stems from the alleged sexual assault of two fourth-grade girls at a school in Maharashtra's Badlapur, which led to outrage. On August 17, police arrested a school attendant connected to the incident, who subsequently died on September 23 in retaliatory firing.

Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar demanded a judicial probe, while state Congress chief Nana Patole questioned the encounter's intent, suggesting it might be to protect the school's trustees. CPI-M leader Subhashini Ali alleged the accused was murdered to save others involved.

'The public needs to understand what the BJP does when there is a rape in their ruling area. It took three to four days for the police to file a case against the accused. The school where the incident occurred belongs to the RSS, and the people who run the school are BJP affiliated. If the people had not protested, the case would not have been filed,' Ali argued. 'The accused, who was in the police's car, fired at the police, similar to the Uttar Pradesh encounter. The accused was murdered, not shot. The Maharashtra government appears to be protecting the accused instead of providing justice to the victims.'

Conversely, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed that while Maharashtra and Badlapur felt relieved, the INDIA bloc mourned the rapist's death. 'The accused in the Badlapur sexual assault was shot by the police. While Maharashtra and Badlapur have sighed in relief, parties of the INDI alliance are mourning his death. Is this a 'rapist protection alliance'? In the RG Kar case and Ayodhya rape case, they protected the accused. This behavior is shameful,' Poonawalla stated in a self-recorded video.

(With inputs from agencies.)