Women’s and progressive groups will take out a morcha today in New Delhi to protest against the increasing violence against women and the inaction of the police personnel in the reported cases of violence
By Team FI
In a collective action, women’s and progressive groups in Delhi have organised a protest march against the increasing violence against women and the apathy and inaction of the police as seen in the case of the brutal rapes of a five year old in Delhi and the six year old girl in Aligarh. The protest action called by groups, including Citizens’ Collective against Sexual Assault, Nirantar, Saheli, Jagori, AIDWA, AIPWA, Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression and others is to be held today afternoon at 12.30 pm at the Jantar Mantar.
The press statement calls attention to the fact that in the first three months of 2013, 393 cases of rape were reported in Delhi. The recent cases of brutalization of the five year old girl in Delhi and the rape and murder of the six year old in Aligarh have witnessed the police failing discharge their duties and proving themselves to be corrupt, ineffective, prejudiced and often violent, said the statement.
The statement protested the delay in “filing an FIR and attempts at bribing the family and the audacity in assaulting a woman protester.” Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bani Singh Ahlawat was caught on camera slapping a woman protestor during the recent protest action in Delhi. The statement also brought to notice the physical violence perpetrated by the police in Aligarh on women protesters, as well as the insensitive remarks of the SSP (Aligarh), Amit Pathak who had reportedly said, “How can we decide whether the girl was raped or not? Did someone see it happen?”
The protest action calls for the offending police personnel to be charge sheeted and dismissed, to be held accountable under the various provisions of the newly promulgated Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013.