State women panel member resigns after selfie with rape victim emerges

Jaipur: Somya Gurjar, a member of Rajasthan State Commission for Women, who faced flak for clicking a 'selfie' with a rape victim, resigned from her post on Thursday.

Gurjar along with Rajasthan State Commission for Women Chairperson Suman Sharma took a selfie with a rape victim, which triggered controversy. The matter came to light when the two pictures went viral on social media.

The selfie was clicked by Gurjar on Wednesday when she and Sharma had gone to meet the rape victim at the Mahila police station.

Read: Selfie with alleged rape survivor in Rajasthan sparks controversy

The 30-year-old woman was allegedly raped by her husband and two brothers-in-laws who also tattooed expletives on her forehead and hand for failing to bring Rs 51,000 as dowry.

An FIR has been registered under Sections of 498-A (Protection of Women Against Domestic Violence Act), 376 (punishment for rape) and 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) of IPC and investigation has been initiated.

Justifying her act, Gurjar said, "That selfie was not taken for entertainment. That woman (alleged rape survivor) was quite enthusiastic about getting clicked.”

"When we were taking pictures of her tattoo as a part of probe, she showed interest in our phone and asked us to click her. We just took her (alleged victim) picture so she would co-operate with us in investigation," Gurjar added.