A Bihar BJP MLC, Tunna Ji Pandey, has given the most ridiculous defence imaginable after being arrested on Sunday by railway police in Hajipur on the charge of sexually harassing a 12-year-old girl on board the Howrah-Gorakhpur Poorvanchal Express.
“I was just taking out my phone charger, didn’t even know whether it was a girl who was sleeping or a boy,” defended the BJP leader, after parents of the minor girl alleged that Pandey had kissed their daughter in an AC-2 coach around 3 AM and asked her to come to the toilet with him when the train was near Sarai station close to Hajipur junction.
After Pandey allegedly molested her, the frightened girl raised an alarm following which the parents who had their berth elsewhere in the compartment rushed to her.
The MLC was caught by the escort party on board the train and handed over to the GRP Hajipur, the SP said.
He has been suspended by the party, within hours of the incident coming to light, reports ANI.
The party has also issued him a show-cause notice. “He has to reply to the charge within seven days after which the party will decide the future course of action,” said BJP’s Bihar unit vice-president Sanjay Mayukh, reports Hindustan Times.
The victim’s family was travelling from Howrah to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, while Pandey had a ticket from Duragapur to Hajipur.
Pandey is in the liquor trade and an MLC from local bodies quota in Siwan.
An FIR has been registered against the MLC with the GRP Hajipur under IPC 354 A (demand or request for sexual favours) and POSCO ACT.
(With inputs from PTI)
(Feature image source: Twitter)