Complaint Filed Against Hardik Patel before NCW but Intention Remains Suspicious

In a recent turn of events, a complaint has been filed against Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Hardik Patel with the National Commision for Woman, against the alleged sex CD released by the BJP, ahead of the upcoming Gujarat Elections. The commission has also been asked to summon the Patidar leader and register an FIR against him.

Gaurav Gulati, a Delhi-based lawyer and activist has filed the complaint against Hardik, based on allegations made by Ashwin Patel, a former PAAS convenor. According to Gulati, Ashwin had alleged that Hardik has ‘exploited several girls’ and had ‘sexually exploited many girls with the fake promise of giving Gujarat poll tickets’. Based on these statements, Gulati had filed the complaint with the NCW on November 22, accusing Hardik of ‘outraging the modesty of a girl’.

In his complaint, Gulati also wants the NCW to “find out the truth (about) who prepared and circulated the MMS” and added that “it is pertinent to mention that Hardik Patel had claimed in advance through media channels that his sex CD will be released in upcoming week by opposite parties and matter of surprise his sexual CD's were leaked on Internet within week of his Statement. It creates the suspicion on the intention and credibility of Hardik Patel. How can a person predict that a Sex CD will be released with the accurate time prediction? It clearly shows that Hardik Patel had prior knowledge that someone is In the possession of his sex cd's.” The whole complaint can be read here.

In his response, the Patidar leader maintains that the sex video clips has been morphed and that the BJP’s ‘dirty politics’ is to be blamed for the scandal. But this complaint has brought to light some questions, that still remains unanswered.

First, who is Gaurav Gulati and why has he registered a complaint against Hardik? It is interesting to note that Gulati’s complaints are all based on third-party statements, those made by Ashwin Patel. None of the victims, who had earlier been sexually exploited by Hardik, as mentioned in Gulati’s complaint, has yet come forward to register a complaint with any authority. And as for Ashwin, he has been a known rival of Hardik and has been at loggerheads with him over the past two years. In an interview, Ashwin had also accused Hardik’s entire team of taking unfair advantages of women and told that Hardik has a “Naxalite approach”. Under these circumstances, it is questionable to register a complaint with NCW, based on allegations that can well be blamed on the political rivalry.

And this is not the first time Gulati has brought forth such complaints to the NCW. Earlier, after veteran actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s memoir, ‘An Ordinary Life’ was released, the actor’s former co-star Niharika Singh accused Siddiqui of publishing content which was not true. Gulati had taken this controversy a step forward by filing a third-party complaint with NCW, accusing the actor of adultery. After this, Siddiqui’s lawyer had sent an official letter to Gulati, accusing him of not only basing his “hasty” allegations on “ridiculous assumptions and presumptions” but also accused him of “seeking publicity for yourself at the cost of my client’s name.” And it seems like Gulati is being ‘hasty’ with Hardik too.

Another question that begs our attention is why is Hardik Patel being accused of ‘outraging the modesty of a woman’ when there is no guarantee that it is Patel himself who had released the video? None of the media outlets who have played clips from the sex video has attested to the authenticity of the video. The source of the CD still remains a mystery as the news was picked up after it got leaked online. Hence, filing an FIR and summoning him in front of the commission cannot be done, unless it is proven that it was Patel who is being shown in the footages and that the MMS victim girl was being exploited or raped under any false promises.