Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state leadership Sunday tried to corner the BJD-ruled state government on the issue of incidents of atrocities against women and the alleged failure of the state government in curbing such crimes.
Addressing a press conference in the city, BJP Mahila Morcha leaders fired salvos against the state government and termed it ‘anti-women’. The women’s wing of the party accused the state government of failing in their duty to safeguard the interests of the aggrieved families by not helping them.
“It is unfortunate that the girl from Rourkela who was kidnapped and trafficked to Rajasthan and later sold to an elderly man, who impregnated her. While the victim’s father ran from pillar to post knocking the doors of officials ranging from the local Collector to the DGP, but no one came to their rescue,” said Pravati Parida, president of the Mahila Morcha of Odisha BJP.
She, however, appreciated the efforts of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) for rescuing the victim. Parida said, “The DCW did a commendable job in tracing her and rescuing her within two days, while the state government authorities slept for more than a year adding to the woes of the girl and her aggrieved family members.”
Parida claimed that if the state government had acted on time the girl could have been saved from facing the inhumane atrocities at the hands of the traffickers. She also castigated Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for not addressing the issue and also for not responding to the calls of the DCW.
“The Delhi Women Commission had written a letter to the Chief Minister providing details of the girl’s plight and highlighting the lethargy of the local police in helping the victim and her family. Though the DCW asked the state government prompt action in this case, the CM is yet to address the issue. We want the culprits to be booked and arrested at the earliest,” she said.
The BJP Mahila Morcha also alleged that around 1,465 cases of women trafficking are reported from the state every year and demanded that all such cases be investigated thoroughly without prejudice on the part of the police.