Shazia Ilmi calls for overhauling of legal system hearing rape cases

New Delhi: Amid widespread protests against growing incidents of sexual abuse of women across the country, BJP spokesperson Shazia Ilmi said on Wednesday that the judicial system needs a complete overhauling with regard to hearing of rape by the courts.

Commenting on the recent sexual assault of two four-year-old girls by a sanitation worker at a school in Badlapur, Maharashtra, the BJP leader said, "In this case, a police constable and two police officers were immediately dismissed, whereas in Kolkata, the case is still being dragged. An attempt has been made to cover up the crime, with new facts coming to the fore everyday which are quite disturbing."

Citing a POCSO court sentencing six individuals to life imprisonment for their involvement in the infamous Ajmer sex scandal 32 years after it took place in 1992, the BJP spokesperson said that judicial reforms are needed to deal with the continuous delay in hearing such cases, so that it does not take long to punish the accused in such heinous crimes.

The Ajmer sex scandal, also known as the 'Ajmer 92' case, involved a series of blackmail and rapes that took place in Ajmer that year.

Speaking on the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College in Kolkata earlier this month which triggered nationwide outrage, Shazia Ilmi claimed criminals are being given protection in a systematic and planned manner in West Bengal.

"Instead of imposing Section 144 and cordoning off the area, the entire crime scene was left open for evidence tampering. This clearly shows that efforts were made by the Bengal government to save the criminals," she said.

The BJP spokesperson also accused the Kolkata Police and the Mamata Banerjee-led state government of shielding Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan for 40 days following charges of sexual abuse raised by women in Sandeshkhali.