Raipur, October 12: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mohan Mandavi stirred a row while referring to the Hathras case during his criticism of the Congress government in Chhattisgarh over the Bastar rape case. The parliamentarian ended up referring to the alleged gangrape and murder of a teenager in Hathras as a "fabricated case". Hathras Case: CBI Takes Over Probe in Alleged Gangrape and Murder of Dalit Teenager.

"There was no oppression in Hathras," he said, further alleging that the Congress raked up a controversy over it to reap political dividends. He demanded the Congress leaders to visit Bastar, where a tribal girl was reportedly raped by seven men two months ago.

"...No oppression took place there (Hathras). Congress leaders are going there-where nothing happened-by fabricating and portraying it as oppression. Why are they not coming to Bastar where an incident occurred with tribals?" Mandavi, who represents the Kaker constituency in Lok Sabha, said.

Watch Video of Mohan Mandavi's Controversial Remarks

The rape case in Bastar, which Mandavi referred to, was reported in Kondagaon village. The case drew nationwide attention after the victim's father attempted suicide in the past week. The tribal girl, who was subjected to gruesome crime, had died by suicide after she was raped. Amid the outrage, the police recently arrested the seven accused.

In Hathras, a 19-year-old girl belonging to the Dalit community was allegedly abducted, gangraped and physically assaulted on September 14. She died at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital on September 29. The autopsy report had confirmed physical torture, including a cervical spine injury due to the brutal beatdown.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 12, 2020 11:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).