Victim shouldn't have gone out late, alone: NCW member Chandramukhi Devi

New Delhi: A member of the National Commission for Women (NCW), Chandramukhi Devi, stoked controversy by saying that the Badaun gangrape-and-murder incident, involving a 50-year-old Anganwadi worker, could have been avoided had the victim not ventured out in the evening.

Speaking to the media after meeting the family of the victim, she said, "Even under any influence, a woman should keep track of time, and should not venture out late. Perhaps, had the victim not gone out in the evening, or gone along with a family member, she could have been saved."

Her remarks have kicked up a storm resulting in NCW chairperson, Rekha Sharma, clarifying that she does not know why her colleague had made the statement. Taking to Twitter, Sharma said: The gangrape-and-murder of a 50-year-old woman in the Ughaiti area of Uttar Pradesh's Badaun district on Sunday, January 3, by a local priest and his two accomplices has sparked outrage across the country.

Accusing inaction on the part of the local police, the NCW took cognisance of the issue and sent a two-member NCW team to the village to enquire into the matter on Thursday, of which Chandramukhi Devi was part. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed Chandramukhi Devi.

"Do you think that women's safety will be ensured after this kind of statement? The NCW member is blaming the victim for the crime. The administration is upset how the post-mortem report got leaked; in Moradabad, a victim is battling for her life. Women will not forgive this kind of treatment," the Congress leader said.

A priest was quizzed throughout the night for his alleged role in the gangrape of an anganwadi worker in this Uttar Pradesh district after his arrest in the early hours of Friday, police said. "Mahant" Satya Narayan, the main accused in the case, was hiding in a forest area near the house of one of his followers in Mewali village under the Ughaiti police station, from where he was picked up in a late-night crackdown, they said, adding that he was on the run for five days.

The priest, who is in his 50s, was immediately arrested and interrogated by a police team. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sankalp Sharma said the sub-inspector in-charge of the area, Amarjit Singh, was suspended on Friday.