Kerala Govt Under Fire Over Women's Safety After Another Minor Girl Abducted, Sexual Assaulted

The alleged abduction and sexual assault of a minor girl who was later abandoned in a paddy field in the Aluva area on Thursday resulted in severe criticism of the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the police by the Congress-led UDF and the BJP.

The incident, the second one in the area in just over a month, prompted both the opposition UDF and the BJP to allege the state was not safe for women and children as the police and the Home Department have failed to ensure their safety. 

While the UDF demanded that the government relinquish power if they cannot protect women and children in the state, the BJP wanted the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to give up the Home portfolio that he holds.

In the last week of July, a five-year old girl -- daughter of migrant labourers from Bihar -- was abducted, raped and killed by a man hailing from the same state. The victim's body was found abandoned in a marshy area behind the Aluva fish market, near the Periyar River.

Police had arrested a person from Bihar - Asafak Alam, 28 - who had confessed to the crime.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan claimed that the latest incident occurred just one-and-a-half km away from the Aluva Palace where Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan was staying under heavy police protection.

"It is a failure of policing. The police have become mere spectators," he alleged. He also alleged that such incidents were being repeated in Kerala and it was becoming a state where more and more crimes are being committed against women and children. Satheesan said if the government was unable to protect women and children in the state, they should admit defeat and relinquish power.

BJP state president K Surendran, speaking along similar lines, said that it was an embarrassing incident for the state where, he alleged, even small children were not safe. Demanding that Vijayan give up the Home portfolio, Surendran, in a statement, alleged that daughters were not safe even inside their homes.

He said while the Left government invites migrant labourers with much fanfare and calls them guests, it was not protecting their children. "God's own country has become the land of criminals," he alleged and claimed that the southern state was competing with Rajasthan - ruled by the Congress - in terms of rape and sexual assaults.

Surendran alleged that criminals and drug mafia were on the loose in Kerala and the police were sleeping and demanded that the state take strong steps as done in Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, State General Education Minister V Sivankutty said the incident was unfortunate and shocking and assured all kind of help to the child and the family who hail from Bihar. The minister, in a statement, said that stringent legal action will be taken against the culprit. He also sought an urgent report from the Director of General Education on the matter, the statement said.

State Health Minister Veena George too assured strict action against the accused and also promised financial assistance of Rs one lakh to the girl from the relief fund of the Women and Child Development (WCD) department, a government statement said. In addition to that, the child would be provided free expert treatment at the Ernakulam Medical College and Rs 10,000 has been given to the hospital for the same, it said.

The minister also directed the Director of WCD department to conduct an investigation and provide necessary protection to the child.

In the latest incident, the eight-year-old girl -- whose parents are also migrant labourers from Bihar -- was abducted from outside her home in Aluva area of Ernakulam district of the state while she was sleeping and sexually assaulted by a man.

Her life was saved as one of the local residents of the area saw her being taken away by the suspect at around 2.15 am, alerted the neighbours and they all went in search of the victim.