Atrocities against girls and women rising in Maharashtra, govt should remain alert: Sharad Pawar

PUNE: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said that atrocities against young girls and women are rising in Maharashtra and suggested that the home department should be alert to keep a check on such crimes.

Referring to the Badlapur incident, Pawar said it was shocking that such a crime happened in a school. Then there was a public reaction (protest) to this alleged crime outside, he told reporters in Pune.

He also slammed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for calling the Badlapur protest “political”.

“There was a need to take strict action against such an act and everybody demanded the same. The state government should remain alert to keep a check on such incidents. The home department should take stringent action wherever required,” said Pawar.

After the alleged sexual assault of two kindergarten girls at a school in Badlapur town of Thane district, Pawar said, many more similar crimes were reported across the state.

“Be it small girls or women, many such atrocities are being reported. Unfortunately, the numbers are increasing day by day in the state and people are reacting to them to express their anguish. A one-day bandh is being organised on Saturday,” he said.

Advocating the need to raise awareness among all sections of society and push the law and order system of the state for action, he said, “I am not blaming anyone but we all need to take measures to stop such things, that too peacefully,” he said.

The opposition grouping Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising Congress, Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), has called for a ‘Maharashtra Bandh’ on August 24 (Saturday) to protest against the Badlapur incident.

Pawar urged all sections of society to take part in the bandh.

Thousands of people had hit the streets and spilled onto railway tracks in Badlapur on Tuesday to protest the alleged sexual assault on two four-year-old girls by a male attendant at a local school.

About CM Shinde’s comments that the protest was largely political and there were only a few locals, Pawar said nobody from his party went there.

“It would have been better had the CM not talked like that. The anguish expressed by people was a reaction to the atrocities committed against the young girls. There was no political motive and no one should look into this incident from that angle,” he said.

To a question about the arrest of some of the Badlapur protesters, the senior politician stressed the need for a more sensitive approach in such cases.

“People came together to react to the (school) incident. They protested peacefully but still cases were registered against them… The home department and police should be more sensitive towards such things,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Pawar met candidates preparing for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) exam over their demands. The MPSC on Thursday postponed its preliminary exam, scheduled for August 25, amid a protest by the aspirants.

“After we intervened, a couple of issues are being addressed. The aspirants want their demands to be looked into. I told them to prepare a memorandum addressed to the CM and we will see if we can find a way forward,” he added.