Armed with the knife of figures, Kiran Choudhry, Leader of the Haryana Congress Legislature Party, has torn into the claims repeatedly made by the BJP Government on the law-and-order situation in the state, stating that it has gone from bad to worse. There has been a spurt in the cases of crime, especially against women, she said.In a statement issued here today, the former Excise and Taxation minister pointed out that only yesterday seven-year-old son of a cloth merchant was kidnapped from Rohtak in broad daylight by two motor-cycle borne youths. A 23-year-old nursing student from Bhiwani has been gang-raped in Rohtak. And the case of 16-year-old Rajeev shows that a gang of human traffickers is active and operating in Sirsa and other parts of Haryana.
She quoted a report, saying that more than 2,715 cases of crime against women had been registered across the state since October, 2014 when the Khattar Government took over. It works out to about 67 cases per day. These include 917 cases of rape, molestation, disrobing of women, sexual harassment and stalking. As many as 330 cases of rape have been registered during the last three months only, which shows the rising trend. “It is time the Khattar Government acted fast to protect people’s lives, limbs and honour,” Ms Choudhry demanded.
The cases of sexual harassment have increased from 372 in 2013-14 to 400 in 2014-15 and the number of rape cases has also increased to 967 in 2014-15 from 950 in 2013-14. “Such a large number of despicable incidents drive a big nail in the claims of the BJP Government that the law-and-order situation is normal,” Ms Choudhry said, adding that one feels terrified reading newspapers every day, seeing the spurt in crime and violence.The spurt in the number of rape cases in Jind, Rohtak, Rewari, Faridabad and other districts has made women feel unsafe and insecure. “Why beat drums about the much touted Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao Programme when you can’t ensure women’s safety and security,” she asked the Chief Minister.