Indian Youth Congress President Srinivas BV directed to appear before Assam Police on May 2
Indian Youth Congress President Srinivas BV has been directed to appear before Assam Police on May 2 with regards to Assam Congress Angkita Dutta’s allegations of harassment.
- Apr 23, 2023,
- Updated Apr 23, 2023, 1:40 PM IST
Indian Youth Congress President Srinivas BV has been directed to appear before Assam Police on May 2 with regards to Assam Congress Angkita Dutta’s allegations of harassment.
Srinivas has been directed to appear before Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (East Guwahati) following a case registered by Angkita Dutta against the IYC president alleging of mental harassment and physical torture.
In a notice dated April 23, Moitrayee Deka, additional deputy commissioner of police (East Guwahati) asked Srinivas B V to appear for questioning on May 2 at 11:00 am.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma responded today to the allegations made by Indian National Congress MLA Randeep Surjewala by posting a copy of the notice on Twitter. He said that it was unfair to blame him for the Congress party's lack of a safe environment for female workers..
In the tweet, CM Sarma said, “The Assam police is acting in accordance with the law. They are currently investigating a case filed by a female Congress worker against the accused person under Section 354 of IPC. It is unfair to blame me for the lack of a safe environment within the Congress party for female workers. Please advise the accused to cooperate with the legal process.”
Notably, Assam Police on April 22 dispatched a team of four officials to Karnataka to apprehend Srinivas BV in connection to Dispur PS Case No 692/2023. The case has been registered under sections 509, 294, 341, 352, 354, 354A(iv), and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with Section 67 of The Information Technology Act.
Angkita Dutta, the expelled Assam Youth Congress president had filed a police complaint against him. The Congress party had expelled Dutta for six years from its primary membership for alleged "anti-party activities".
According to the complaint filed with Assam's Dispur police station on April 19, Dutta has accused Srinivas BV of being "sexist, chauvinistic, and outraging a woman's modesty". She has alleged that Srinivas BV had been harassing her physically and mentally for the past six months by making sexist comments and threatening her with consequences if she complained against him to top Congress leaders.
Dutta's complaint further stated, "He heckled me holding my arm, pushing and pulling and threatening me using slang words, saying he will ruin my career in the Congress if I complained against him to the high office bearers of the party."
The Congress's Assam unit had issued a show cause notice to Dutta, asking her to explain her conduct despite assurances from the party leadership that her grievances would be addressed. However, Dutta has claimed that she only informed Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah about the harassment two days ago, suggesting that the timing of the allegations could be related to the upcoming assembly polls in Srinivas BV's home state of Karnataka.