JOY SENGUPTA
Patna, Jan. 4: A Bihar MLA was stabbed to death in full public view at his house this morning by a school principal who had levelled charges of sexual harassment and rape against him earlier.
Rupam Pathak, the 43-year-old mother of two, pulled out a knife hidden under her shawl and plunged it into Rajkishore Keshari, the ruling BJP’s MLA from Purnea, a little after 9am.
Rupam walked into the lawn of the MLA’s house while Keshari, 53, was interacting with around 10 people. Keshari acceded to her request to speak to him in private and moved a few metres away from the other visitors.
As soon as the two sat down, she whisked out the knife. Spotting the weapon, the legislator tried to crouch in the chair but he was stabbed in the back. Keshari died on the way to hospital, succumbing to the six-inch wound that ruptured his spleen.
The other visitors pounced on Rupam and beat her up. She is nursing her injuries in a hospital and is out of danger.
Purnea deputy inspector-general Amit Kumar said Rupam was not assaulted but overpowered by a security guard. A policeman and Rupam were injured in the scuffle. “The knife was big. A policeman who had tried to overpower her suffered minor injuries,” Kumar said.
Rupam runs a private school in Sipahi Tola of Purnea. The school was inaugurated on April 14, 2006, and Keshari was the chief guest at the event.
He had also taken part in the first annual function of the school in 2007. During this event, Pathak and her husband requested the MLA to sanction funds from his quota to build a road leading to the school. Keshari sanctioned Rs 1.93 lakh from the MLA local area development fund for the road.
Pathak, in a statement to the police, had said that when she had gone to the MLA’s residence on April 18, 2007, with the road proposal and photographs of the school’s annual function, the legislator had raped her.
The police said she did not co-operate when she was asked to undergo a medical examination. She also could not provide any physical evidence to support her charge, according to the police.
“She backtracked from her allegations when the matter was being heard in the court. On June 18, 2010, Pathak gave a statement in the presence of a magistrate under Section 164 of CrPC that she had levelled charges against the MLA after being influenced by some people. Pathak, however, did not reveal the names of the persons who had influenced her. Pathak’s husband also deposed that the charges levelled against the MLA were not true,” deputy chief minister and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said.
Following her statement, the case against the four-time MLA was closed.
Amit Sarkar, the CPM candidate who lost to Keshari in the last elections, said: “The police should have investigated the matter properly. Their lackadaisical attitude is one of the reasons behind the incident. We knew about the woman but never made it a political issue in the Assembly elections.”
The Congress demanded a judicial probe, saying had the police acted on the complaints of Rupam, the incident would not have happened.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar has ordered director-general of police Neel Mani to investigate all aspects in the case.
Lalu Prasad’s RJD took a dig at the law and order record but refused to comment on the charges levelled by Rupam.
Keshari’s son, who lives in New Delhi, was on his way to Purnea.
The above is from the Telegraph.
I think I echo the voice of most Indians when I say that justice has been done.
Instead of punishing her, a statue should be raised of Mrs Rupam Pathak with donations from the general public.
For too long have we been witness to the torture inflicted on the public by these politicians. N D Tewari, DGP Rathore and others are just a tip of the iceberg. Many cases are not reported or swept under the carpet as this one too would have been if the courageous woman had not attacked her rapists.
The courts take it very easily and the witnesses are threatened to change their testimony as this woman too had been made to do.
Now it appears she did it very unwillingly.\
The grievance remained and we are seeing the result.
I would suggest all security cover for all politicians accused in any crimes should be removed.
Why should the government be made to bear the cost of their misdeeds?
Then only can we expect honest politicians.
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