The BJP leader was shown slapping a Hindu woman for having an affair with a Muslim man in a video on Tuesday.

LUCKNOW

Video screengrab of Aligarh BJP Mahila Morcha leader Sangeeta Varshney with the 18-year-old girl, whom she slapped for dating a Muslim man.
Video screengrab of Aligarh BJP Mahila Morcha leader Sangeeta Varshney with the 18-year-old girl, whom she slapped for dating a Muslim man.(Twitter)

An FIR was lodged on Friday evening against Aligarh president of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Mahila Morcha Sangeeta Varshney, who was seen repeatedly slapping a teenage girl, for dating a Muslim man, in a video that was widely shared on social media websites.

Sevendra Kumar, father of the 18-year-old victim Pooja, filed the complaint against Varshney.

Circle officer, Gandhi Park police station, Pankaj Srivastava, said, “The victim’s father complained against Sangeeta Varshney for beating up and threatening his daughter. We have lodged an FIR under sections 323 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code and have started the investigation.”

The victim’s father said the incident adversely affected his daughter’s reputation.

“The law has not given any right to Sangeeta Varshney to beat up and threaten my daughter. This was a shameful act that caused damage to my daughter’s image and respect. I was hurt to see her getting slapped in that video. Action should be taken against all those who indulge in moral policing and threaten common people in the name of love jihad,” said Sevendra Kumar.

In the video, Varshney was seen telling the girl, “Have you no shame? You are a big girl and yet you do not know who is a Hindu and who is a Muslim?”

The BJP leader later admitted to having slapped the girl. She said, “I saw a couple surrounded by a crowd. People told me that the Hindu girl and a Muslim man were trying to run away. I found it to be a case of love jihad. I took the girl to an ice-cream parlour to speak to her.”

However, women activists took a grim view of Varshney’s arguments and actions. Activist Kalpana Gupta wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him to stop moral policing by organisations such as BJP Mahila Morcha, Hindu Yuva Vahini and Hindu Jagran Manch.

Earlier, police had registered a case against the Muslim man who was seen with Pooja. He was charged under IPC section 294 (indulging in obscene act in a public place), but was granted bail.http://www.hindustantimes.com/lucknow/fir-filed-against-bjp-mahila-morcha-leader-sangeeta-varshney-for-slapping-girl/