Saki Naka rape case: Shiv Sena-ally Congress claims 'CM politicizing matter for vote bank'

A member of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi- the Congress party on Saturday wrote to Maharashtra's Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari criticizing the MVA government's stand on the Sakinaka rape and murder and case. In the letter written by Congress leader Vishwabandhu Rai, it was pointed out that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is also the chief of the Shiv Sena, was targetting people of other states in the case to satisfy his and the party's vote bank.  

'If CM is politicizing a case, who will people look up to for justice?'

"Any state's CM targetting the people of other states to get away with a case as heinous as this is condemnable, " the Congress leader said in the letter, comparing Shiv Sena to other small regional parties of Maharashtra which 'pick out an accused or two from cases similar to the Sakinaka and connect them to state, to derive political benefit from it'. 

Vishwabandhu Rai further said, "When the CM starts doing politics on cases, then who will the people of the state depend on for justice?" Adding that the 'secular' leaders of the MVA government are also mum on this topic, he said, "This is why I have approached you (Governor Koshiyari). 

Stating that people committing such crimes do not belong to a particular state, caste, or religion, he urged the Governor to take steps to do justice, and ensure law and order in the state. 

Maximum crimes in BJP ruled states

Earlier, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray suggesting him to convene a special session of the state assembly following the rape and murder of a woman in Mumbai's Sakinaka area. Not taking his suggestion, CM Thackeray had instead given a counter-suggestion to Governor Koshyari to request the Centre to call a session of parliament to discuss issues concerning the safety of women as 'crimes against women' were most prevalent in BJP-ruled states including Uttarakhand- Koshiyari's home state. 

The development comes in reference to the rape and murder of a woman in the heart of Mumbai-Sakinaka. In the said case, a woman in her 30s was brutally raped and the accused had even inserted a rod in her private parts, leaving her in a critical condition. Though admitted to a hospital, the victim succumbed to her injuries after a 33-hour-long fight. 

The police, through the CCTV camera footage, and other evidence was able to trace the accused- one  Mohan, who hails from the Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh.  He has been booked under sections 302, 376, 323, and 504 of the IPC.