Dehradun, May 10 -- The Uttarakhand Congress on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was "shooting the messenger" after the former's leader in Champawat was booked for alleged conspiracy in the "fake" minor gang rape case, even as the BJP announced state-wide protests against the Congress for "maligning" the party. On Friday, Champawat police arrested former BJP leader Kamal Rawat and his associate, for allegedly conspiring to frame three men, including another district BJP leader, in the gang rape of a minor in the district on May 5. The accused were identified as Kamal Rawat and his associate Arjita Rai, said district superintendent of police Rekha Yadav. The FIR registered on Friday against Rawat and Rai charged them under multiple sections of the BNS, including wrongful confinement (Section 127(2)), criminal intimidation (351(2)) and criminal conspiracy. Local Congress leader Anand Singh Mahra was also named in the FIR for his alleged role in the conspiracy. "Mahra's only role was that he rushed to the police station after being informed about the matter and urged police to register a case under the Pocso Act... many people in Uttarakhand, including media organisations, reported the matter as a gangrape case. If highlighting such allegations amounts to an offence, will everyone now face action under the Pocso Act?," Congress leader and former CM Harish Rawat asked in a Facebook post on Saturday. He alleged that the government was trying to "shoot the messenger" and attempting to unnecessarily drag the Congress into what he described as a purely BJP-linked matter. Three men - Vinod Singh Rawat, Naveen Singh Rawat and BJP leader Puran Singh Rawat - were earlier booked for allegedly abducting and gang raping the girl at Salli village, where she had arrived to attend a wedding on May 5. A 10-member special investigation team (SIT) under the supervision of the Circle Officer, Champawat, was constituted to investigate the case. However, police on Thursday said that the probe into the case did not suggest the presence of the three accused at the scene of the crime. The medical test also did not show clear signs of gang rape or a physical struggle. They added that statements by certain witnesses were found to be inconsistent with technical and circumstantial evidence. "The victim had gone to attend her friend's wedding in Salli village. The original plan was to be executed at Vinod Singh Rawat's house. However, they shifted the plan to another location, an old house near a dairy," the SP said on Friday. "Kamal Rawat wanted to take revenge against Puran Singh Rawat, who had pursued a Pocso case registered against him in 2023. He harboured resentment against him. Puran Singh Rawat had supported Kamal Rawat's rival candidate, who won in the recent local body polls," she said. Meanwhile, the BJP announced on Saturday that its Mahila Morcha will stage protests across the state against Congress for "trying to malign the BJP through conspiracies". Uttarakhand BJP Mahila Morcha president Ruchi Bhatt said the protests will take place in different districts till May 11. She alleged that Congress and opposition parties were trying to mislead women, youth and society over the Champawat case by giving it a political colour to defame the BJP government and organisation."The BJP has always stood for women's dignity, safety and justice, while the Congress has consistently tried to derive political benefit from issues related to women," Bhatt said. She alleged that the opposition was attempting to create unrest in a planned manner, but said that the people understood their "conspiracy"....