Harassment case: Assam cops summon Srinivas on May 2, he blames CM Sarma

While Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the police were “acting in accordance with the law”, Srinivas said in a tweet later Sunday, “Over the past five days, at the behest of the CM of Assam, a fake case was filed to stop me from campaigning in Karnataka. But the Olympians of the country have been accusing the BJP MP of harassment for months. Where is the FIR? Where are BJP ministers and agent organizations?”

In Bengaluru, Assam Joint Commissioner of Police Prateek Thube told reporters that as per their investigation, the victim had been “constantly tortured, abused and sexually abused for the last six months”.

“We are here [Srinivas’s home] to investigate the case,” Thube said. “As no one was here, we have pasted the notice, and we are also sending the notice to his native place. We have given him a notice, a time to appear before the investigation officer and cooperate in the process of investigation,” Thube said.

Assam DGP G P Singh had told The Indian Express Saturday that “a case had been registered”, and an inquiry instituted on the instructions of the National Commission for Women (NCW). “We would take all measures required for investigation,” he said.

According to the notice, the case was registered under Sections 509 (using words, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 294 (obscene acts and songs to the annoyance of others), 341 (wrongful restraint), 352 (assault or use of criminal force to any person), 354/354A(iv) (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of The Information Technology Act.

Dutta had first raised the allegations against Srinivas on Twitter and later filed a police complaint.

In a series of tweets on April 18, she accused Srinivas of “continually” harassing her and discriminating against her on the basis of gender for six months. The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee responded by slapping a showcause notice on her the same day.

#WATCH | The turncoat CM of Assam who is trying to outbid Amit Shah to his post has now become infamous for this antics to stay in news…We reject this propaganda completely. Sometimes he wants to arrest Pawan Khera, sometimes he wants to arrest BV Srinivas. Perhaps it is to… pic.twitter.com/pVOkFdIVYA

— ANI (@ANI) April 23, 2023

On Saturday, Dutta – daughter of late Congress leader Anjan Dutta – was expelled from primary membership of the party for purported “anti-party activities”. “She was given a chance to explain her conduct through the showcause notice but her response was unsatisfactory,” said Debabrata Saikia, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly.

While there have been murmurs that Dutta may join the BJP, both she and Chief Minister Sarma scotched the rumours.

On Saturday, Sarma said the Congress should have “internally solved the issue”. “Since it has not, now the police will register the case. Law will take its own course,” he had said.

On Sunday, senior Congress leader Randeep Surjewala hit out at Sarma. “The turncoat CM of Assam who is trying to outbid Amit Shah to his post has now become infamous for his antics to stay in news…We reject this propaganda completely. Sometimes he wants to arrest Pawan Khera, sometimes he wants to arrest B V Srinivas. Perhaps it is to save the ignominity that Mr Modi was trying to arrest him once for Saradha scam and Louis Berger scam,” he told reporters.

Sarma responded on Twitter Sunday: “The Assam police is acting in accordance with the law. They are currently investigating a case filed by a female Congress worker against the accused person under Section 354 of IPC. It is unfair to blame me for the lack of a safe environment within the Congress party for female workers. Please advise the accused to cooperate with the legal process.”