New Delhi, October 7: National Commission of Women (NCW) strongly condemned the offensive and defamatory remarks made by BJP leader Ranjeet Srivastava regarding the Hathras victim. According to an ANI update, the Commission has sent him a notice directing him to appear before NCW on October 26th at 11 am to give an explanation on the same.

Ranjeet Bahadur Srivastava, a BJP leader from Barabanki claimed that the four upper-caste men who were accused gangraping the 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras are 'innocent' and it is the victim who was 'awaara' (wayward). He made these shocking statements during an interview on a news channel. Hathras Gangrape Case: NCW Takes Suo Moto Cognizance of Victim's Picture Being Used During Various Protests, Issues Separate Notices to Amit Malviya, Swara Bhaskar & Digvijaya Singh.

Srivastava didn't stop and further went on maligning the image of the deceased by saying that the teen was 'having an affair with the accused' and had called him to the millet field on September 14 (the day of the crime).

He was quoted saying, "The victim must have called the boy to the field because they were having an affair. This news is already out on social media and news channels. She must have got caught after that." He made shocking statements like"such women are found dead in a few specific spots".

"Such girls are found dead in only some places. They will be found dead in sugarcane, corn and millet fields or in bushes, gutters or forests. Why are they never found dead in paddy or wheat fields?" he asked.

On Tuesday, NCW took suo moto cognizance of Hathras case victim's picture being used during various protests. The Commission further issued separate notices to BJP leader Amit Malviya, actor Swara Bhaskar, and Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, seeking an explanation from them.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 07, 2020 02:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).