Deputy minister in V.P. Singh's Cabinet accused of abducting minor Harijan girl

In the footsteps of the police, it is now the turn of politicians to be involved in such bizarre cases as the abduction of minor girls in Uttar Pradesh.Last fortnight Mohan Singh, the acerbic chief whip of the Lok Dal legislature party, created a flutter in the state Assembly when he read out a first information report (FIR) accusing Sarjoo Prashad Saroj, a deputy minister in Vishwanath Pratap Singh's Cabinet, of abducting a minor Harijan girl.Nirmla with her father and (top) Saroj: Rattling skeletonsWhile Singh was breaking the news of the sordid affair, the Congress(I) MLAs rushed to the hall to listen attentively to the accusation being hurled at one of their senior colleagues.The FIR produced in the Assembly by Singh: Lachman, a rickshaw puller of Pratapgarh district, claimed that Saroj while he was an MLA, kidnapped his 14-year-old daughter Nirmala from his mother's residence on August 7, 1980 with the help of seven to eight armed accomplices.When he protested he was mercilessly beaten. "I was threatened that I would be killed if I made a hue and cry about my daughter's abduction," says Lachman. Though Lachman lodged a complaint with the district officials on August 18, and sent its copies to the chief minister, home minister and the inspector general of police, no action was taken to recover the abducted girl.Bemoans Lachman: "Nobody even believed me. I talked to various people but everyone defended Saroj." According to the father, Nirmala was illegally confined by Jhakhu, a brother of Saroj for over two weeks in Meerapur village. When Lachman went to the village to see his daughter he was again beaten up by Jhakhu, he alleges, in the presence of Saroj and his wife.Saroj, however, refutes the allegation. Says he: "I am being maligned because of political reasons. If the charge is proved in court I will resign." But the Government is not inclined to accept the Opposition proposal to conduct a judicial inquiry into the affair. Could it be the rattle of skeletons in the cupboard that makes it reticent?Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 26, 2013 12:49 IST--- ENDS ---

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Deputy minister in V.P. Singh's Cabinet accused of abducting minor Harijan girl

In the footsteps of the police, it is now the turn of politicians to be involved in such bizarre cases as the abduction of minor girls in Uttar Pradesh.

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