Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Raksha Khadse’s daughter was allegedly molested by some youths during a fair in the Muktainagar area of Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district.
The minister reached the police station in Muktainagar to file a complaint on Sunday for the incident, which took place during the Sant Muktai Yatra on the occasion of Mahashivratri. “The night before last, my daughter went to the fair, and this incident took place. Some boys harassed her," Khadse said.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis assured that strict action will be taken against the accused. “There are some officials of a party who have done such a thing. It is a cheap act; the police have registered a case, and some have been arrested. This kind of harassment is wrong; they cannot be forgiven, and strict action will be taken against them," he said.
An accused has been arrested, while the search for the remaining six suspects is underway. A case has been registered under the POCSO Act, Molestation, and IT Act, police said.Former minister and Raksha’s father-in-law Eknath Khadse said that the police have already received several complaints against these youths in the past. “These boys are hardened criminals. In Maharashtra, crime against women has increased. Criminals are not afraid of the police. Girls do not come forward to lodge complaints. Parents believe that the names of their daughters should not be disclosed. We complained as we had no option left," he said.
State President of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) faction Rohini Khadse said, “If an incident like the molestation of a Union Minister’s daughter can happen in Maharashtra, how will women and girls from ordinary families get justice?"