NEW DELHI: National Commission for Scheduled Castes Chairman PL Punia and Union Minister Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal today questioned the actions taken by the Uttar Pradesh government in the aftermath of the brutal gangrape of a mother-daughter duo, and called for administrative steps to prevent such incidents.
"Whatever has happened in Bulandshahr is really shocking and shameful. It is a shame on the society," Punia, a senior Congress leader, said.
"The state government has taken action and suspended a few policemen. But that is not enough. Some mechanism should have been worked out so that this kind of incident does not happen," Punia said outside Parliament.
On Friday night, a group of bandits had waylaid a family travelling from Noida to Shahjahanpur by car, dragged the woman and her 13-year-old daughter out of the vehicle to a field, and raped them while the men were tied with ropes.
Questioning the role of the policemen on duty, Punia accused the state police of indulging in rampant corruption.
"What did they do? They do not perform their duties but collect money. This is happening every day everywhere in UP. Chief Minister (Akhilesh Yadav) must take responsibility."
Patel, the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare who hails from UP, said: "The CM has a moral responsibility. As a woman, I want to raise this question that whatever action he has taken after the incident is one thing, but the question is why did such an incident take place."
She said the UP administration has to ensure the security of women in the state, adding that voters will teach the ruling Samajwadi Party a lesson in the assembly polls in 2017.
Asked about the SP's claim that all culprits involved in the incident have been arrested, she said, "My question is why you are not prepared to prevent such incidents in the first place. Why is that the police were so insensitive towards crime against women. It gives a clear indication of the state of law-and-order machinery. What you do post-incident is another point."
"As an elected representative from UP, there is a moral responsibility on all of us. But it is the state government who takes care of the law and order situation," she said.
"Crimes against women is rising in the state. When will the government start thinking about it? she asked.