BJP MLA Asks Mandsaur Rape Victim's Family to Thank Local MP for Hospital Visit

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Sudarshan Gupta, on Friday, sparked off a controversy through his comments on the alleged Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur gang-rape victim's parents to express gratitude to the local MP for visiting them at a hospital in Indore.

The matter came into limelight when the BJP MP from Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, Sudhir Gupta visited in Indore's M Y Hospital where Sudarshan Gupta, a legislator of the BJP, was already there. He was caught on camera, asking the victim's parents “Saansad sahab ko dhanyavad dijiye, wo specially aap se milne yahan aaye hain (Thank the MP, he has come especially to meet you).”

Immediately, the parents of the victim were seen nodding and folding their hands before Sudhir.

Soon after this, the Twitteratis were quick to use the opportunity to accuse the BJP MLA Sudarshan Gupta over his remark. Here are the some of the comments:

@SudarshanGupta_ you are a shit man You bloody Chaplus

— KK DIXIT (@kkdixit11) June 30, 2018

शर्म आना चाहिए ऐसे सांसद और विधायक को जो मंदसौर उस पीड़ित परिवार से शोक संवेदना प्रकट करने के बजाए धन्यवाद की मांग कर रहे है।#ThankYouSudhirGupta @OfficeOfKNath @mpsudhirgupta @ChouhanShivraj @SudarshanGupta_ pic.twitter.com/WysIWh2rKI

— ankit porwal (@ankitporwal439) June 30, 2018

This is as low as it can get. Shameless, insensitive, power hungry and cowardly sycophants like Sudarshan Gupta act or utter nonsense after every incident of crime against our daughters. And none in BJP leadership is ever seen or heard giving them a kick where it hurts.

— Utopia Unlimited (@UnlimitedUtopia) June 30, 2018

@ChouhanShivraj #Bjp_MLA #Sudarshan_Gupta and #Bjp_MP #Sudhir_Gupta should be suspended for showing a height of insensitivity and unacceptable behavior. I urge govt to remove such people from party. https://t.co/SsBhPW5mZs

— Jadubir Singh (@JadubirSingh) June 30, 2018

On June 26, while the eight-year-old was waiting for her father after school, the accused lured her on the pretext of giving her sweets. The minor was gang-raped, brutally injured and then her throat was slit. She still remains in the hospital, battling for her life. The accused, identified as Irfan alias Bhaiyu (20), was arrested late on June 27, a police official told PTI.

As per the local media reports, the Muslim community, led by the local Imam, too marched to the Collectorate to protest against the crime and demanded capital punishment saying the accused has no religion.

Speaking to Newsclick over the telephone, a local Imam, Ali from Mandsaur said, "I hope the guilty in Mandsaur rape will be given capital punishment in a timely manner. Unlike Hindu Ekta Manch and BJP leaders in Kathua, who sided with rapists, we and local Muslim leaders have sided with humanity. Let’s pray for victim and family." ‬

The brutal rape of an eight-year-old girl in Mandsaur has come as a painful reminder of the infamous 2012 Delhi gang-rape case, where a nursing student was sexually assaulted and brutally injured by six people on a private bus before being abandoned on the roadside.