Rajasthan: Nagaur MP seeks CBI probe into rape allegation against Congress MLA Joshi's son

In the Rajashthan rape case, wherein the son of Rajasthan Minister Mahesh Joshi has been accused, Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal on Tuesday demanded the intervention of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and asked Rajashthan CM Ashok Gehlot to order the Cabinet Minister's removal. The development holds relevance as a 23-year-old woman lodged a rape case against the son of the State Minister, alleging that Rohit Joshi had committed the crime of rape on her multiple times during a span of a year.

Issuing a statement on the matter, Beniwal questioned CM Gehlot over the delay in the removal of the Minister while stating that the Chief Minister had handed over similar cases to the CBI during his previous office. "So why is there a delay in removing the minister by intervening in this matter by the CM? After all, what message does the Chief Minister want to convey?" Beniwal asked on Twitter. 

The Rashtriya Loktantrik Party Chief further said that the Chief Minister 'needs to immediately register a case and hand it over for investigation to the CBI'. He further demanded that security protection should be provided to the victim. 

Rajasthan Minister's son named in rape crime against 23-year-old woman

The case related to the woman lodging an FIR against the State Public Health and Engineering Department Minister's son Rohit Joshi in New Delhi on the account of sexually assaulting her multiple times. Subsequent to the registration of an FIR, the Delhi Police stated that the Rajasthan Police have been informed about the allegations and that latter would conduct a detailed investigation further. 

Following this, the Rajasthan authorities initiated the process to convert the zero FIR into a regular one as the complaint mentions an alleged sexual assault which happened in an area under Delhi's Sardar Bazar Police station jurisdiction. 

It may be noted that a zero FIR refers to written complaints with the Police that bear no serial number and instead it is assigned a number '0' (zero). Unlike an FIR, a zero FIR can be registered at any Police Station irrespective of where the incident has taken place or the crime has been committed.

Congress MLA Maderna condemns police's delay in acting on rape charges

Congress MLA from Osian Divya Maderna, who is the daughter of former water supply minister Mahipal Maderna, on May 10 questioned the working of and visible complacency of the Rajasthan Police and demanded a swift action after the rape complaint against Rohit Joshi. Demanding security for the rape survivor, Maderna went on to question the DGP as to why a case had not been registered with Rajasthan Police. 

"Please don’t escape from the due duties towards citizens. Sou moto cognizance should be taken in such matters rather than wait and delay. Please adopt a swift action policy rather than an escape policy," Maderna added. 

An associate of the Congress party herself, Maderna raised strong objections to the rape incident and said, that the DGP should 'immediately' provide security to the survivor and her family as they hailed from Rajasthan. "Our government is very sensitive but the police need to take swift action. As this case has raised questions on the working of Rajasthan Police," the MLA tweeted.

It may be noted that hours after the incident was brought to the public's attention, Mahesh Joshi was confronted by the media and asked to comment on rape allegations against his son wherein he vouched for standing by the truth throughout his lifetime and said, "Let the police do its work, I can't say anything as of now."