Bhubaneswar: BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Assembly Pradipta Kumar Naik Tuesday came down heavily on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for his alleged lack of concern over women security in the state.
Addressing newsmen here, Naik demanded women police station in each district as incidents of crime against women like rape are rising in the state.
Naik said, “In 2016 as many as 1,928 rape cases were reported in the state which rose to 2,221 in 2017 and 2,502 in 2018.”
As per police records so far 1,149 rape cases were registered till November this year.
Naik said while every district in BJP ruled Haryana has a Mahila police station, in Odisha only six of the 30 districts of have Mahila police stations.
The government, he said, should open Mahila police stations in every district in two months to deal with the rising incidents of crime against women.
The Leader of Opposition said after the Telangana incident where a lady veterinary doctor was gangraped and murdered, the state government has announced to open 45 fast-track courts in the state to deal with rape and POCSO related cases.
He said though in 1995 a decision was taken to open fast-track courts in the country for speedy disposal of rape cases, the courts were opened during the A B Vajpayee government.
Naik said 72 fast-track courts have been established in Andhra Pradesh, 69 in Tamil Nadu, 88 in West Bengal and 100 in Maharashtra so far.
He regretted that over 12,000 rape cases were pending in Odisha yet the Naveen Patnaik government could not set up a single fast-track court during the last two decades assuming power for the fifth consecutive term in the state.
The BJP leader said, “When the Union government is providing 60 per cent of the cost for opening fast-track courts and Mahila police stations, the Chief Minister should clarify why the state government is not establishing Mahila police stations and fast track courts.”