Have not said anything against Bulandshahr victims: Azam

Lucknow, Aug 29 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan,who courted controversy with his alleged remarks on theBulandshahr rape case, today maintained that he had not saidanything against the victims and their family members. His reaction came hours after the Supreme Court soughthis and the SP government’s response on a plea to shift theprobe and trial in the case out of the state due to"distrust". "I welcome what the Supreme Court said today. I havenever said anything against the victims and their familymembers…I have said if four or five similar crimes arecommitted on a single day, there could be a conspiracy behindit," he told reporters here. The Samajwadi Party leader said he had always advocatedthat Islamic laws should be made applicable to rape cases andpunishment should be meted out within a week. "Why is BJP worried? If the conspiracy is exposed, we cantake more stringent action," he said. An SC bench comprising justices Dipak Misra andC Nagappan took note of the alleged controversial statement ofthe UP Urban Development Minister, who had said that theBulandshahr incident was a "political conspiracy". The court framed several constitutional questionsincluding whether a person, holding public office, can give astatement which may create "distrust" in the minds of thevictims about a fair probe in the case and whether such astatement can be a part of freedom of speech and expression. The man, whose wife and daughter were gangraped lastmonth on a highway in Bulandshahr, had on August 13 moved theapex court seeking transfer of the case to Delhi, besideslodging of an FIR against Khan as well as several policemen. The brutal incident had happened on the night of July 29when a group of highway robbers stopped the car of aNoida-based family and sexually assaulted the woman and herdaughter after dragging them out of the vehicle which had fourother occupants. PTI SAB SMI SRY ZMNSRY