New Delhi: The National Commission for Women (NCW) has asked the UP police to immediately take action against two men who misbehaved with a woman, pulling her sari, during the filing of nominations for the block chairman polls in Uttar Pradesh’ Lakhimpur Kheri.
As a video of the incident involving the woman proposer appeared online, sparking condemnation, the women’s body said that NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma had, in a letter issued on Thursday, sought strict action against the men.
“National Commission for Women (NCW) on July 8th had taken suo motu cognisance of an incident wherein a woman was allegedly attacked and misbehaved with and her sari was pulled in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh,” the Commission said.
It took action after it was tagged on Twitter to a video clip of the incident posted.
Sharma had written to the Director General of Police of Uttar Pradesh to immediately intervene in the matter and take strict action against the men, it said.
Voting was held on Saturday for 476 posts of block panchayat chiefs in the state, with sporadic incidents of violence.
The opposition Congress has attacked the BJP government over the violence during the polls including the Lakhinpur Kheri incident and demanded that it apologise.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government over law and order, saying a jungle raj is prevailing in the state as violence marred the panchayat polls and women faced indecent behaviour.
Mayawati’s comments have come as the Opposition has slammed the state government over incidents of violence in the run-up to the polls for the block panchayat chief.
Reports of clashes had surfaced from several area of the state amid allegations that candidates backed by opposition parties were not allowed to file nomination papers.
On Friday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had alleged that in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri, BJP workers misbehaved with his party candidate Ritu Singh and her proposer Anita Yadav, pulling their sarees .
A brother-in-law of a block development committee member was also killed in Bahraich as he resisted an alleged attempt to abduct his relative by a BJP candidate’s husband and supporters.
In a Hindi tweet on Saturday, Mayawati said, “In the current reign of the BJP in UP, there is no rule of law, but a jungle raj is prevailing under which there has been widespread violence in the panchayat polls and indecent behaviour with a woman in Lakhimpur Kheri. This is highly condemnable.
In another tweet, Mayawati attacked the BJP over the allegations that houses of the Dalits were damaged in the Chandauli area.
“Does this show their Dalit love? It is sad that Dalit ministers at the Centre and in the state are still silent. Why? This is extremely worrying,” she said.
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