A day after a girl was allegedly raped in a moving vehicle in Shimla, political organisations and parties, on Tuesday, staged a protest and mounted pressure on the government, demanding immediate arrest of the persons involved in the crime. The state women’s wing of the BJP condemned the incident and demanded that police take action against the accused.

“We have submitted a memorandum to the police and urged them to take immediate action. Our organisation has also brought the matter to the notice of CM Jai Ram Thakur who has given appropriate directions to the Director General of Police,” says Sheetal Vyas, vice president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, who accompanied the Mahila Morcha delegation that called on Superintendent of Police Shimla Omapati Jamwal at his office here on Tuesday.

With Lok Sabha polls in Himachal Pradesh three weeks away, political parties have raised questions over the safety of women in the state. Left-oriented Gudiya Nyay Manch–a forum constituted to seek justice for Gudiya, a school girl who was raped and murdered in 2017, condemned the incident and flayed the police for inaction.

“The police is solely responsible for this rape. Had they helped the girl in time, the incident could have been avoided. This incident has proved that common people are not safe in the state and people don’t get help, justice and security from the police,” said Virendra Mehra, coordinator of Manch.

On the other hand, Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee has targeted BJP-led state government by asking whether the responsibility of the government ends with setting up ‘Gudiya helpline’.

“The state’s crime graph saw a spike soon after BJP came to power. It is shocking that even after the victim pleaded for help, the police did not take the matter seriously,” said District Congress Committee’ president Atul Sharma. He asked, “What kind of governance is this where action isn’t taken even after police came to know the matter?”

“Those who were asking for votes in the name Gudiya must answer the public. Are they only going to use the issue of women security to gain votes? It is very shameful that such a crime happened in a peaceful city like Shimla.

According to reports, the girl first went to Lakkad Bazaar police station where she complained that some men were following her. The police, instead of helping her lodge her complaint, told her to lodge the complaint at Dhalli Police station.

When she was on her way to Dhalli from Mall Road Shimla, a car suddenly stopped near her, and she was forcefully pulled inside and sexually assaulted. The accused later dumped her at Dhalli jungle from where she contacted her friends and police through Gudiya helpline which was set up after the infamous 2017 Gudiya rape case in Kotkhai.

First Published: May 01, 2019 13:22 IST