Ram Vilas Paswan. Ram Vilas Paswan.

After visiting the family of the gangrape and murder victims in Badaun on Monday, Food minister Ramvilas Paswan has filed a report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggesting that the case should be accorded the same treatment as the infamous December 16, 2012 gangrape case in Delhi, also known as the “Nirbhaya” case, in terms of a speedy trial.

Paswan spoke to Modi before taking off for Badaun. The PM is said to have asked Paswan to file a report on the ground situation and incorporate suggestions for improvement as well.

After the recce of the villages and gauging the law and order situation of the areas, sources said Paswan in his report called for central intervention, if the Akhilesh Yadav-led government did not respond with corrective steps immediately.

“There were talks of a suggestion that deploying central forces in parts of Western Uttar Pradesh for the maintenance of law and order should also be considered if the state government is unable to handle the situation,” said a Union minister.

Apart from submitting the report to the PM later in the day, Paswan also briefed his Cabinet colleagues about his visit in the meeting of the Council of Ministers Monday evening.

After interacting with the family and others from the Dalit-dominated villages, Paswan, a known Dalit face from Bihar, suggested there should be installation of proper toilets and other arrangements of sanitation in these villages on an urgent basis. The villagers had cited lack of toilets as one of the main reasons their women felt vulnerable to attacks, especially in the wee hours, the visiting party was told.

When contacted, Paswan’s son and MP Chirag, who had accompanied his father, said the villagers were living in fear. “People there are scared. They have no faith in the state government. We heard pleas from villagers wanting to shift out of UP,” Chirag told The Indian Express.

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