Quoting the National Women Commission's data, the memorandum said that between 2006 and 2009, 55 per cent of total complaints on atrocities against women were from UP.
The delegation of UP Mahila Congress was led by its national president Prabha Thakur, MP, and UPCC president Rita Bahuguna. They said when Mayawati took over as CM, it was expected that women will get a good deal from the government.
The memorandum said: “On the contrary, the condition of women in UP deteriorated as Chief Minister Mayawati and its government adopted a casual attitude towards granting protection and justice to women.â€
Significantly, the UP Mahila Congress's memorandum alleged that several cases exposed the protection of ruling party leaders to criminals who were responsible for atrocities on women including rape and criminal assault.
According to the memorandum, in 2007, as many as 1637 cases of rape were recorded in UP while in 2008 it rose to 1864. It is all the more shocking that during the fist six months of 2009, in eight districts considered to be sensitive and safe, as many as 1308 women lost their lives over dowry and 979 women became victims of rape.
The Mahila Congress has documentary evidence to prove that, during the first 45 days of 2010, women became victims in as many as 248 cases which shows a deterioration in the law and order situation.
The UP Mahila Congress's memorandum recorded the following cases to show the gravity of the situation :
- In the evening of February 16, Soni, daughter of Kesri, a resident of rail bazaar, was raped by Vinay Raj and three other persons and later killed. The police recorded the case of rape and murder but deliberately avoided the preparation of a slide for investigation. The court admonished the district administration for this lapse. As a result, the main accused, a cop himself, secured bail. Now, the family is under pressure from police to withdraw the case.
- On September 12, 2009, 28-year-old Aradhna, a teacher at a primary school in Badhewar under thana Machrehta in Sitapur, was raped and killed while she was returning home. At that time, UPCC president Rita Bahuguna had submitted a memorandum to the State Governor urging him to see that women teachers were not posted in far-flung places. But no action was taken by the Mayawati government.
- On January 30, 2010, the young daughter of a farmer in Majhi village was raped by one Milap who also attacked the girl with a sharp weapon resulting in several injuries; she was thrown into a pit. She managed to survive and a report was lodged following pressure from the UP Mahila Congress. Milap was arrested and sent to jail.
- In Badaun district, MLA Yogendra Sagar was said to have been involved in gang rape of one Jyoti. The government reportedly influenced the district administration to save the MLA and cases were registered against the family members of Jyoti.
- Meerut recorded a number of cases of atrocities on women during the last three years. On January 31, 2010, Shiva Pande, resident of village Ghopla Rithani, became the victim of a gang rape by four persons. A report was lodged only after pressure from the UP Mahila Congress. But no action has been taken against the culprits who are absconding.
- In Shankargarh, Allahabad, five girls were deliberately forced to take off their clothes and then paraded naked. They were also made to remain in a bended position for four hours but no action was taken.
- On January 9, 2010, in Farehpur-Unnao, an eight-year-old girl became the victim of rape. The accused poured acid into her private parts and killed her.
- On February 11, a four-year-old girl became the victim of rape in Firozabad district but no action has been taken against the culprit.
The UP Mahila Congress memorandum alleged that even Dalit women were not safe under the Mayawati government. The memorandum said that recently in Sitapur district, a Dalit woman, Shashikala, not only became a victim of atrocities but an attempt was also made to eliminate her. But she survived. The culprits who had support from BSP had also been identified, but no action was taken. When she led the march to Lucknow to apprise the government of her plight, she was arrested.
The national president of Mahila Congress visited Kanpur on December 16, 2009 in connection with the gang rape of Neelam Shukla; a question was also raised in the Rajya Sabha yet no action was taken. Having failed to get justice from the government and fearing ostracisation by the society, Neelam Shukla committed suicide.
The memorandum of UP Mahila Congress had demanded that the Mayawati government should issue a white paper to show how many cases of atrocities on women were registered and what action was taken by the government.
It may be mentioned that the UP Mahila Congress had sought an appointment with Chief Minister Mayawati to discuss the cases of atrocities on women. When Mayawati refused to give an appointment, the UP Mahila Congress staged a dharna at Shaheed Smarak under the leadership of national President Prabha Thakur.
Peaceful agitators of UP Mahila Congress were not only beaten up mercilessly by the police force but subjected to humiliation too. UPCC President Rita Bahuguna and AICC secretary Pervez Hashimi were injured.
Rita, who courted arrest along with hundreds of party workers, charged Mayawati government with being fascist.
The UPCC president has now given the call for a statewide protest on February 22 against the brutal lathi-charge on women belonging to UP Mahila Congress. The party would organise a demonstration in every district and submit a memorandum to the District Magistrate to be sent to the Governor seeking dismissal of the Mayawati Government. (IPA)