She had affair with one of the accused, all 4 youths are innocent: BJP leader on Hathras rape victim

Srivastava claimed that the victim's family members must have caught her with the boy and killed her for the sake of honour

A senior BJP leader in the state shamed the Hathras gang-rape victim and expressed support for the accused persons.

"Why are such girls found in cane, millet fields, gutters, bushes and forests and not rice or paddy fields? Why did she go there? She had an affair with one of the accused," BJP leader Ranjeet Bahadur Srivastava said.

Srivastava claimed that she must have asked her 'lover' to meet her in the millet fields. "The family members of the girl must have caught her with the boy and killed her for the sake of honour," he added.

"I can say with certainty that all the four accused youths are innocent... proper investigation will reveal their innocence... they must be released pending the investigation," he said.

National Women Commission chairperson Rekha Sharma said that she would send a notice to Srivastava seeking an explanation from him. "He does not deserve to be called a leader," she said.

Srivastava had earlier also made controversial remarks and faces dozens of cases, including one on trying to instigate communal violence. His wife was the chairperson of Barabanki Municipality in UP.

A few days back, BJP legislator Surendra Singh had said that rapes could be prevented only by inculcating proper moral values in the people.