BJP leader lets boyfriend rape minor daughter; both arrested

Haridwar: A BJP leader and her boyfriend were arrested here for allegedly making him and his aide rape her 13-year-old daughter, the police said on Thursday, PTI reported.

The matter came to light on Tuesday when the minor told her father about her ordeal, following which he lodged a police complaint, Haridwar SSP Pramendra Dobhal said.

A case was registered 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 Sharma and her boyfriend Sumit Patwal were arrested from a hotel here on Wednesday after a medical examination of the girl confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted, Dobhal said.

Meanwhile, a search is underway to arrest Sumit's accomplice named Shubham.

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

BJP sources here 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 has been living with her boyfriend in his hotel.