Farmers Movement Archive

Sexual assault: Samyukt Kisan Morcha forms panel for women complaints

Jhajjar, May 10Following the registration of a sexual assault case involving a 25-year-old West Bengal woman activist at Tikri border, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) today decided to form an internal complaints committee where female protesters would be able to lodge their complaints.Morcha leader Hannan Maula made the announcement during a virtual interaction with the media.The woman had died of Covid on April 30, but her father later lodged a police complaint alleging his daughter was sexually assaulted by accused Anil Malik and Anup Singh, who ran a farm outfit named Kisan Social Army.Reiterating the Kisan Morcha’s support for the victim’s family, Maula said they would ensure the culprits were befittingly punished. “The committee will ensure such incidents don’t recur,” he said.The victim’s father too narrated how his daughter “wanted the duo punished, but without the farm protest being harmed”. On why the case was registered late when he knew of the sexual assault before the victim’s death, he said, “I was shaken by the sudden demise of my daughter and how she was tortured by the accused.”The victim's father, meanwhile, today filed a second statement with the Bahadurgarh police stating that only two persons, Anil Malik and Anup Singh, were accused in the case, and that "he had no complaint against the four others named in the FIR". "We want punishment for the guilty, not the innocent. Hence, the names of the four others should be excluded from the FIR," he demanded.Yogendra Yadav, another SKM leader, said the police had also included the names of two women activists in the FIR. “The women, in fact, had helped the victim. Their names were not even mentioned by the complainant,” he said.Asked whether union leaders knew about the incident and why a police complaint was not lodged earlier, Yadav claimed they weren’t aware about the sexual assault.Jhajjar SP Rajesh Duggal today inspected the crime spot at Tikri where the Kisan Social Army had pitched its tent. The tent is learnt to have been removed by farmers a few days after the incident came to light. Six persons have been booked in the case.

The Tribune

2021-05-11