Chhattisgarh BJP candidate, being investigated in rape case, gets court respite
The Hindu
BJP candidate Brahmanand Netam is being investigated in the rape of a 15-year-old girl in Jamshedpur in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district
The Jharkhand High Court directed the police not to take any coercive action against Brahmanand Netam, the BJP candidate in an assembly bypoll in Chhattisgarh who is being investigated in a rape case in Jamshedpur.
Netam was the BJP candidate for the byelection to the Bhanupratappur assembly constituency in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, where polling was held on Monday.
Hearing a petition, Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi on Monday directed that no coercive steps be taken against Netam.
Netam is being investigated in the rape of a 15-year-old girl in Jamshedpur in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district, police said.
Though the FIR does not name Netam, his alleged complicity came to the fore during the course of the investigation, they said.
The case also includes a human trafficking charge, they added.
Netam's counsel argued before the court that his client was being implicated due to political rivalry.
No room for complacency till counting is completed, Chandrababu Naidu tells TDP-BJP-JSP contestants. The TDP-BJP-JSP alliance will register a comfortable victory in the general elections over the YSRCP, he says. Alleging that the YSRCP has conspired to create disturbances on the counting day, the TDP national president advises the chief counting agents and their teams to see to it that the officials adhere to norms related to counting.