A nine per cent increase in rape cases during the last nine months across India and especially in Haryana (against 7 per cent in 2011) saw 25 women organisations meet with Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Chandigarh on Wednesday.
Expressing concern at the 20 rape cases of dalit women and minors in his state during the last four weeks, the groups also vociferously condemned the police resorting to a lathi charge at the public meeting held in Rohtak on October 15 to express solidarity with rape victims.
“Not only did the district collector refuse to meet the protesters but gave orders to beat up the protesting women, many of whom consisted of school-going teenagers,” said activist Sudha Sundararaman at a press conference in the capital.
When the CM was questioned as to how armed policemen were allowed to lathicharge unarmed women protesters, Mr Hooda gave no clear answer. He remained equally non-committal about the withdrawal of 18 cases levied against activists, the activists pointed out. “It was only after we refused to budge from the protesting site in Rohtak that the chief minister agreed to meet us,” Ms Sundararaman added.
The activist groups demanded that the state government arrest khap panchayat leaders who make anti-women statements.
Mr Hooda, however, remained evasive about taking action against the khap panchayats and stressed that no attempt was being made to reduce the legal age of marriage.
He told the groups that the state government had written to the Punjab and Haryana high court to set up fast track courts to deal with heinous crimes and also agreed to set up district level committees for monitoring crimes against women. These committees with would meet twice to a month to expedite legal aid and rehabilitation measures for the victims.
Gargi Chakravarty, working president of the National Federation of Indian Women, regretted that states including West Bengal and Karnataka, which had a low graph vis a vis crimes against women, were showing an increase. “Rape is spreading like a galloping cancer,” Ms Chakravarty said.