Manohar Lal Khattar breaks silence on rising rape incidents in Haryana, asks Oppn to not politicise issue

CHANDIGARH: In the wake of rising incident of rape and murders reported from different parts of Haryana, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday transferred three IG level officers and an SHO in the state. 

"Such incidents are unfortunate. We'll take strict action and tie up all loose ends. We have made changes in the police administration and have transferred a few officers," CM Khattar said on recent rape incidents in the state. 

Such incidents are unfortunate. We'll take strict action & tie up all loose ends. We have made changes in the police administration & transferred a few officers. I appeal political parties to not politicise the issue: ML Khattar, Haryana CM on multiple rape incidents in the state pic.twitter.com/HAM3m7bgLi — ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2018

He also enumerated the steps taken by the state government in the direction of women safety saying, "We started ‘Dial 100 Project’, will also begin ‘1090 Project’ so women in danger can immediately contact police. We’ll look into matters, take help of counselling or legal action as the need be. We’ve set up special courts for speedy trials of such cases."

We started 'Dial 100 Project', will also begin '1090 Project' so women in danger can immediately contact police. We'll look into matters, take help of counseling or legal action as the need be. We've set up special courts for speedy trials of such cases.: ML Khattar, Haryana CM pic.twitter.com/2xy7o5u0tE — ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2018

The Congress has slammed the Khattar government over its alleged failure to ensure safety and security of women and asked the Chief Minister to step down from the post on moral grounds. Alleging complete breakdown of law and order machinery in the state, the party is planning to hit the streets to protest against the BJP government. 

We met Guv over failure of law & order in the state. Multiple rape incidents make us hang our head low in shame. State govt must resign on moral grounds. We've asked the Guv to dismiss govt, if they don't resign, & implement President's rule here: BS Hooda, former Haryana CM pic.twitter.com/jtkw5McC60

— ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2018

Meanwhile, several people today took to streets to protest against the government and burnt effigies of Haryana CM outside the Haryana Bhawan.

The Haryana Police today said the body of a 19-year-old youth, who was named in the FIR as the alleged abductor in the savage rape and murder case of a 15-year-old Dalit girl from a village in Kurukshetra district, has been in a canal near Jyotisar. The body was found late yesterday night from the Bhakhra Canal.

Police said the body of the Class XII student was found in a decomposed condition and was identified by his parents from a tattoo on his arm. Police had earlier launched a hunt to nab the accused who is alleged to have abducted the girl from Kurukshetra when she went to attend a tuition class. The youth had been named as the alleged abductor in a complaint lodged by the girl's family after the teenager had gone missing last week from her village in Kurukshetra after leaving home to attend a tuition class.

The Class X student's half-naked body was found on Saturday from near the bank of a canal in a village in Jind district after she had gone missing last Tuesday. Asked about the allegations levelled by the girl's family that local police did not immediately act upon the complaint lodged with them when the girl had gone missing, the Kurukshetra SP said the SHO concerned had been placed under suspension. The girl was brutally assaulted, her private parts mutilated and some of the vital organs ruptured, police had said earlier.

Police had earlier said they believe the number of accused in the crime could be more than one. However, with the body of the youth being found, the mystery of how the girl reached 100 km away from her home in Jind district where her body was found has further deepened.

The shocking incident came close on the heels of another incident last month, in which a six-year-old girl was brutally raped and killed in Haryana's Uklana area in Hisar district. Besides, an 11-year-old girl was also raped and killed in a separate incident in Panipat last week while a 23-year-old woman was allegedly kidnapped and then gang-raped in a moving car in Faridabad.