By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter
In a shocking turn of events, Parvez Parwaz, a lawyer-cum-activist who had filed a complaint against Yogi Adityanath for his hate speech was arrested on charges of rape just as the date of hearing in the hate crime case was approaching nearer.
In 2007, Pervez Parwaz had filed a complaint against the then MP of Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath, for his speech inciting hatred and enmity against the minorities in the police station, Gorakhpur. The hate speech is supposed to have triggered communal violence for the next few days.
The magisterial court had then in 2007 had taken cognisance of the crime but the sessions court dismissed the case on the grounds that the CD of the evidence was tampered with.
Pervez then appealed to the High Court, Allahabad for reinvestigation. But the HC refused to prosecute Adityanath who had by then become the Chief Minister of the State on the grounds or procedural error and sent back the case to the sessions court again.
Pervez then challenged this order of HC in the Supreme Court. The SC has asked the UP government to respond in this matter in a month’s time.
Both the parties have been sent notices to appear before the court in the month of October.
Just as the hearing was drawing near and Pervez had sought protection from arrest, the hearing of which was on Wednesday the 26th of September, Pervez was arrested on 25th Tuesday on charges of rape.
The victim of rape, a vegetable vendor, had complained in the month of June that she had been gang-raped by Pervez and Jumman an occultist and friend of Pervez. She had gone to consult the occultist for a problem but instead was raped by these two men. The police had investigated the case and closed it back then for lack of evidence. But now all of a sudden they seemed to have found ‘fresh evidence’ and reopened the case and arrested the lawyer-activist.
The arrest has taken a political hue with politicians from opposition parities alleging a conspiracy.
Rehana Begum, wife of Pervez has said that her husband has been framed in a false case and demanded justice. She also said that her husband has been targeted because he has been pursuing a criminal case against Yogi Adityanath.
Rehana also revealed that her husband was taken by policemen who were in civil clothes from his workplace to Khalilabad. And later when the media got to know of the arrest they brought him to Rajghat PS.
Leaders from various parties including the Samajwadi Party have asked for a high-level probe as they alleged of a conspiracy by the BJP.
The police, however, claim that medical examination has confirmed rape.