Mangaluru: “The serial sexual assault on a minor girl in Kalenja in the limits of Dharmasthala police station is the most heinous crime that district has ever witnessed. This is a shameful act in a civilised society”, said Lolaksha, an activist and president of Shikshana Rakshana Vedhike.
He was addressing a press meet in the premises of Hotel Woodlands here on Wednesday, April 5.
Condemning the brutal act, he said already police had registered a case against five accused. “We have also urged that the influential and the political powers involved in this case be brought before the law”, he added.
“In this case, the state has failed in upholding the right to dignity of the victim. The victim’s mother is suffering from psychological issues and is hospitalised. After the death of her father, the victim was lonely at home. The local gram panchayat and local voluntary organisations have failed to protect the right of the child out of negligence and there is a dereliction of duty from their end. They failed to bring this incident to the notice of the Child Welfare Committee. Hence we demand that gram panchayat representatives and local voluntary organisations too be booked under section 34 of Juvenile Justice Act 2015.
Though it is mandatory to provide compensation to the victim within one week after incident under the Atrocities Act 2016, neither the District Magistrate nor the District Social Welfare Officer have bothered about it”, he said.
Lolaksha also mentioned that this issue would be brought to the notice of the state chief secretary in writing in the coming days.
“We will be also be speaking to the Deputy Commissioner and SP about the incident and the victim’s plight”, he added.
Renni D’ Souza, Secretary, Shikshana Rakshana Vedhike and Shridhar Rao were also present.
