Assam Police on Sunday served a notice to Indian Youth Congress (IYC) president BV Srinivas to appear at the Dispur police station in Guwahati on May 2.
Acting on a first information report (FIR) filed recently expelled Assam IYC president Angkita Dutta, who accused Srinivas of criminal intimidation and harassment, a police team from Guwahati reached the IYC chief’s residence in Bengaluru and served the notice.
Dutta, who was expelled from the primary membership of Congress for six years over alleged “anti-party activities” following her accusations against Srinivas, had lodged an FIR on April 20 at Dispur police station under sections 509, 294, 341, 352, 354, 354 and 506 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with section 67 of Information Technology Act, accusing the Congress leader of mentally and physically harassing her on several occasions.
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“It is revealed that there are reasonable grounds to question you to ascertain facts and circumstances from you, in relation to the present investigation. Hence, you are directed to appear before me at 11:00AM on 02/05/2023 (Tuesday) at Dispur police station, Guwahati police commissionerate, Kamrup (metro),” the notice issued by Guwahati assistant deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) Maitreyi Deka read.
The notice states that if BV Srinivas fails to comply with the order, he’ll be subjected to an arrest. “Failure to attend or comply with the terms of this notice can render, you will be liable for arrest under section 41A(3) and (4) of CrPC,” stated the order.
The Congress party on Saturday expelled Angkita Dutta, president of the Youth Congress in Assam, for anti-party activities, days after she alleged that Indian Youth Congress chief BV Srinivas has been harassing her.
Earlier this week, Dutta had spoken about the alleged harassment and lodged a complaint at Dispur police station. According to her complaint, Srinivas has been mentally harassing her and passing chauvinistic remarks for the past six months. She claimed that the IYC chief used derogatory language and threatened her with dire consequences if she continued to complain about him to party officials.
Meanwhile, in response to Dutta’s complaint and harassment allegations, Srinivas has filed a defamation case and sent her a legal notice.
Also Read: Congress expels Assam IYC president for 6 yrs for alleged ‘anti-party activities’
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has hit out at the Congress party for expelling Dutta. Calling Congress’s ‘ladki hun, lad sakti hun’ slogan hollow, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said that the manner in which the complainant has been sacked is “uninspiring for women.”
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said, “It is a matter of a woman’s modesty and the Congress party didn’t stand with her. Now the law will take its course.”
On Sunday, Sarma shared a copy of the notice served to BV Srinivas on Twitter and wrote, “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.”
