Raipur. The women’s wing of Chhattisgarh’s main opposition party Congress on Tuesday protested against the alleged rise in crime against women in the state and criticised the BJP-led government and the police. During the protest, the attempt of women Congress workers to gherao the Chief Minister’s official residence at Civil Lines in the capital Raipur was foiled by the heavy police force deployed near OCM Chowk. Barricades were put up here.
Many senior party leaders including former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, state president Deepak Baij, women wing chief Phoolodevi Netam and MLAs were stopped by the police personnel there. Targeting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Baghel alleged that the law and order situation in the entire state has collapsed and incidents of rape, robbery and murder are happening continuously.
He said that the ruling BJP has failed to stop the increasing crimes against women and is engaged in protecting the accused in such cases, which is unfortunate.
Hundreds of women turned up to protest on Tuesday despite heavy rains. Citing rape incidents, Baghel alleged that in the Keshkal (Kondagaon) incident, an FIR was lodged 20 days after a woman was raped and similarly, a minor girl student was allegedly raped in a school in Durg, but the case was registered two months after the alleged incident.
Phoolodevi Netam said that neither girls nor women are safe in Chhattisgarh and the police have turned a blind eye to the incidents of crime against them. She alleged that instead of providing justice to rape victims, they are being humiliated in police stations. In view of the protest, Raipur Police had deployed a large number of security personnel in the capital and barricaded the roads leading to the Chief Minister’s residence at many places.