Uttarakhand BJP leader let boyfriend, his aide rape her teenaged daughter

A local BJP leader in Haridwar allegedly let her boyfriend and his aide rape her 13-year-old daughter, the police said on Thursday, 5 June, adding that all three have been arrested.

The trio has been booked under different sections of the POCSO Act and the BNS, including on gang-rape charges.

Anamika Sharma and her boyfriend Sumit Patwal were arrested from a hotel in Haridwar on Wednesday, 4 June, after a medical examination of the girl confirmed that she was sexually assaulted, Haridwar SSP Pramendra Dobhal said.

Patwal's accomplice Shubham was also arrested late on Wednesday night from Shahpur, Meerut, he added.

The matter came to light on Tuesday, 3 June, when the minor told her father about her ordeal, following which he lodged a police complaint.

A case was registered against the trio under BNS Sections 70 (2) (gang-rape), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), 3(5) (criminal act) by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and relevant sections of the POCSO Act.

Anamika formerly headed the BJP Mahila Morcha's Haridwar district unit. However, once her name cropped up in the case, she was stripped of the party's primary membership.

BJP sources in Haridwar claim that she has not held any party post since August 2024.

According to the police, the minor was gang-raped several times by her mother's boyfriend and his aide, both of whom are in their thirties, in Haridwar, Agra and Vrindavan between January and March this year.

The men perpetrated the crime with her mother's consent and in her presence, the police said, adding that they also threatened to kill the minor's father if she disclosed it to anyone.

Anamika had separated from her husband and was living with her boyfriend in his hotel, while her daughter lived with her father.