The National Commission for Women (NCW) took cognisance of allegations of police mistreatment in Rajasthan by four widows of paramilitary personnel who died in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack. Chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to the Director of General Police in Rajasthan to conduct an inquiry into the claims made by the women against police officials.
The four women – Manju Jat, Madhubala, Sundari Devi and Renu Singh have been staging a protest to press for their demands since February 28. They have been demanding the installation of statues of the slain CRPF personnel, jobs on compassionate grounds and construction of roads in their villages. According to reports, one of the women, Manju Jat wrote to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot alleging that the police beat her up, stripped her clothes and pricked her with a pin.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena, who has been sitting on a ‘dharna’ with the martyrs’ widows near former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot’s residence, said the chief minister should meet them and take a positive stand on their demands instead of making unnecessary statements. He also alleged that police personnel pushed the women in which Manju Jat, the widow of Rohitashav Lamba got injured and was admitted to the hospital.
The BJP leader said that instead of fulfilling the demands of the families of the martyrs, the state government was taking recourse to "dictatorship". "The police misbehaved with them even when they were protesting at the assembly gate recently," he alleged.
Moreover, Governor Kalraj Mishra had also written to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot urging him to look into the matter, adding that the four women wrote to him seeking permission for euthanasia as the government was not fulfilling their promises.
Chief Minister's response
In a statement posted on Twitter, Chief Minister Gehlot said that widow of CRPF official Hemraj Meena wants a third statue of him to be installed, even though two statues have already been installed. He also said, “Some BJP leaders are disrespecting the martyrs and taking political mileage. This has never been the tradition of Rajasthan. I condemn it.”
“Should we create such a difficult situation in front of the wives of martyrs because the rules made at present have been made on the basis of past experiences. How can it be justified to deny the rights of the children of martyrs and give jobs to other relatives? What will happen to the children of martyrs when they become adults,” he asked.
The chief minister added that he had also shared his thoughts on the issue with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
(With inputs from PTI)
