A tribal woman has moved a court in Assam's Biswanath accusing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Assam Lok Sabha MP Ram Prasad Sarma of posting in social media her bare photograph, taken during a stir in Guwahati ten years ago.
Laxmi Orang filed the complaint in in the court of sub-divisional judicial magistrate court under various sections of the Indian penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
She filed the case against Adityanath for allegedly posting in his social media page on June 13 her bare picture, taken during an agitation by All Adivasi Students Association of Assam at Beltola in Guwahati on November 24, 2007 without blurring.
The woman filed the case against Sarma for allegedly sharing the post in his social media page.
Sub-divisional judicial magistrate A Sattar recorded Orang's statement during the day and fixed the next date of hearing on June 22.
Later, Orang told the media that she was not present at the rally on behalf of any political party as claimed by Adityanath in his post but to press for the demand for scheduled tribe status for the Adivasi community.
"Yogi Adityanath, without knowing any fact, commented in the social media that the rally was on behalf of the BJP and the Congress workers attacked it.
"When Prime Minister Narendra Modi is campaigning for Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao at the same time his party chief minister (Adityanath) is doing this type of work. Is this democracy?"
When contacted, Sarma said "it (the stripping) was a fact and a true incident during that time. I shared it so that people know that an unfortunate girl was a victim and no justice has been given to her till now.
"I have not given any comment with the shared post," Sarma said adding he had asked Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal a few days ago to reopen her case so that she gets justice.
"Now I am writing an official letter to the chief minister for the case to be re-investigated as the culprits of the 2007 Beltola incident need to be punished."
Meanwhile, Additional Director General of Police (Special Branch) Pallab Bhattacharya said investigations have revealed that the Facebook account in which pictures of Orang, stripped of her clothes and being beaten during the Beltola violence, were posted was a fake one created in the name of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath.
"We will take the help of the Uttar Pradesh police in investigation," he said.
AASAA president Pradeep Nag in a press release said, "Yogi Aditya Nath's post is illegal and great injustice to the Adivasi community and AASAA."
