Bhatta-Parsaul 'rape': Panel warns Uttar Pradesh

"If an FIR (first information report) is not registered in the Bhatta-Parsaul case, it means the Uttar Pradesh government officials are indulging in contempt of court," NCSC Chairman P.L. Punia told a TV channel here.

"The commission has powers to initiate contempt proceedings. Although the commission has never exercised these powers but it is willing to do so if an FIR is not registered," he said.

Punia's comments follow reports that women from the villages complained that they were raped the day police fired at villagers during a land acquisition protest and FIRs were not registered.

Violence erupted in Bhatta-Parsaul in May after farmers protested alleged forceful acquisition of their lands by the state government.

A court in Noida Oct 10 directed the Uttar Pradesh government to register criminal cases against 16 policemen for alleged excesses they committed on women and others during the farmers' agitation in Bhatta-Parsaul.

The order came on complaints of seven women who also swore in affidavits that they were raped.

Police had refused to register any case of rape as the allegation was termed as an "afterthought" following the visit of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi to the villages.