VIJAYAWADA: Asserting that the State government is giving top priority to safety of women, Home Minister Taneti Vanitha has said swift action is being taken against the perpetrators of crimes against women in the State irrespective of their status and stature.
Speaking to mediapersons on Tuesday, she said a youth with a criminal record murdered a minor girl on Sunday midnight under the influence of ganja. A dispute between the accused and the victim led to the murder. Having learnt about the murder, police swiftly arrested the accused within one hour. “It’s an unfortunate incident. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced an ex gratia of `10 lakh to the victim’s family,” she said.
Lashing out at the Opposition for making baseless allegations against the government using the unfortunate incident, she asserted that there was not an iota of truth in them. After becoming the Chief Minister, Jagan had taken several initiatives to ensure the safety and security of women in the State. The Disha Act was enacted to curb atrocities against women with an iron hand. About 1.2 crore women have downloaded Disha app so far. About 900 women have availed the services of Disha App for their safety and security in emergencies so far.
“Action is being taken against the perpetrators of crime against women within 24 hours. Friendly policing, zero FIR system and the latest tourist police stations have become hallmark of Andhra Pradesh police,” she said. Vanitha said strict measures were taken to curb cultivation of ganja and its smuggling. About 2 lakh kg of ganja has been seized so far in raids. Action has also been taken to curb manufacturing of illicitly distilled liquor. Jaggery traders have been kept under strict observation, she said.
She expressed her dismay at the Opposition looking for ways and means to defame the YSRC government even when it is striving hard for safety and security of women.“They might have forgotten that law and order went for a toss in the previous TDP regime, incidence of crimes against women was high and the accused in such cases were well protected by the then-ruling party. Today, no such things are there and the accused in criminal cases are being brought to book irrespective of their background,” she averred.Principal Secretary (Home) Harish Kumar Gupta and DIG CM Trivikram were present.