LUCKNOW: With the spurt in crime against women and girls, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to run a month-long campaign from July 1 to July 31st in every school of each district to make the girl students aware of their security aspects.
Reiterating his stand of zero tolerance to crime, especially, against women and Dalits, UP CM Yogi Adityanath has issued strict instructions to all the district administrations to be on extra alert and curb the crime of all sorts with focus on the incidents taking place against women and girls.
He has also pushed the officials concerned to set up 'girl student safety awareness team' in each district and run a month-long campaign starting from July 1 in every school across the state to educate the girl students about the situations which they should be wary of to avoid falling victim to criminal and anti-social elements.
Conforming to the directive of the chief minister, chief secretary Anup Chandra Pandey has written to each DM and district police chief to work in tandem and run the campaign under their personal supervision to bring about awareness about the security and safety of women and girls in schools where they fall victim to a number of sexual and other related crimes.
"The chief minister has directed strengthening of security of women and girls in the state and that strict measures be initiated in this regard. For this, a month-long campaign will be launched from July 1 to make schools aware about security (of girl students)," Chief Secretary Anup Chandra Pandey said in the letter was written to DMs and district police chiefs.
The team, entrusted with creating awareness, would comprise of two police officers, and two experts of Women and Child Welfare department. The team will carry out the campaign for a month with a special focus on schools situated in interior locations and rural areas.
Notably, UP has been witnessing a spate in crime against women. From Tappal in Aligarh to Bulandshahr, the graph of atrocities against women and girls has been on the rise in the recent past leading to nationwide outrage. While reviewing the work and worth of the police and home department early this month, the CM had issued directives to revive Anti-Romeo Squads with double vigour.
The gruesome murder of a two- and- half year old in Tappal over a loan of Rs 10,000 early this month had shaken the human sensitivities. It was followed by the gang rape of a minor allegedly by six men in Kushinagar while a 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a Muslim cleric inside the premises of a madrassa in Kanpur.
The most recent Bulandshahr incident of Monday night, wherein, a youth crushed two women with is a speeding car and injured two others after a failed molestation bid by him. The above-mentioned incidents just a few to narrate the sorry state of affairs and enough to push the government to take concrete steps arrested the soaring graph of crime against women and girls.