As rapes rise, Congress unites for Khattar’s dismissal

Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 17

Various factions of the Congress put aside their differences and came together on Wednesday to demand dismissal of Haryana government under Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar as the alarming rise in rape cases have left the state shaken.

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Selja, All India Mahila Congress (AIMC) President Sushmita Dev, State Congress Legislative Party leader Kiran Choudhry and several sitting and former MLAs of the party met Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki to demand imposition President’s Rule in the state.

The development comes as rape incidents rise in the state, most recently in Jind, Panipat, Pinjore and Faridabad—all in less than a week. 

“Recent incidents of murder of young girls after brutal rape at Jind, Panipat, Pinjore and Faridabad have made it difficult for women to venture out in the state. Once known for its development and peaceful atmosphere, Haryana has become a safe haven for criminals. On the one hand, young girls were falling prey to rapists, and on the other, the state government was busy holding festivals on Gita and Sarasvati rather than improving law and order in the state,” their memorandum to Haryana Governor Solanki said.

The Congress attributed the rise in crimes in the state to gangs of criminals who it claims have moved their operations from Uttar Pradesh to Haryana because of the “lax” attitude of the state government and police.

Despite being only 11th in terms of population, the state witnessed 1,057 murders, 3,922 kidnappings, 1,187 rapes and 1,325 incidents of arson in 2016, the document said.

“In view of the alarming disorder in the state, we request that being Constitutional head of the government, you please dismiss the state government and recommend imposition of President’s rule in the state,” the Congress leaders wrote in their memorandum to the Governor.

“The law and order in the state is in a shambles and this government is unable to bring the situation control. I have met family members of the victims and they said they wanted CBI probe as they have lost faith in the state police,” Hooda said after the meeting.

Selja called for the state government to take moral responsibility and step down.

“We have never witnessed such a situation in the state when incidents like that of Nirbhaya in Delhi are happening almost daily in the state,” Selja said to reporters.

A 15-year-old girl was brutally raped and murdered in Jind on Friday, leaving her private parts mutilated and her liver ruptured—an incident that was a grim reminder of December 2012 rape case of a 23-year-old paramedic in Delhi that shook the country’s conscience.

Two people were arrested on Monday on charges of raping and murdering an 11-year-old Dalit girl in Panipat.

Also on Monday, a 50-year-old man was arrested for a brutal sexual assault on a minor girl.

Four men have been accused of gangraping a 22-year-old woman in a moving car in Faridabad on Tuesday.