HYDERABAD: Two rape cases in the last one year have shaken people’s conscience, forcing them to hit the streets and point fingers at ‘ineffective’ policing.
In April this year, Hajipur, a small village located just 57km away from Hyderabad, was much in news after a girl’s body was retrieved from a village well. A 28-year-old lift mechanic, M Srinivas Reddy was arrested and upon interrogation, cops found out that he was involved in raping and killing two other teenage girls. This confession spread like a wildfire and irate villagers ransacked his house and set furniture on fire. They demanded capital punishment for Srinivas and staged dharnas.
Chargesheets were filed in the three murder cases on July 31 and trial commenced at the court of first additional district judge, Nalgonda, on October 18. Srinivas is currently lodged in Nalgonda district prison. “The trial is going on every day except during holidays,” Bhuvanagiri ACP N Bhujanga Rao said.
While the Hajipur incident made headlines in Telangana and AP, the gang rape and murder of 27-year-old veterinary doctor near Shamshabad on November 27 shook the entire nation. People across the country staged protests, charging police with inefficiency and demanding public hanging of the four accused. Their anger was palpable when thousands of locals besieged Shadnagar police station, forcing cops to baton charge them.
A few days later, the four accused were killed in an encounter with cops at Chatanpally village where Disha’s body was burnt by the suspects. The same people, who were angry with police for neglecting women’s safety, showered flower petals on the cops and raised slogans in their praise at the encounter site.
Telangana IG (women safety) Swati Lakra says they have time-tested applications like ‘Dial 100’ and HawkEye app for quick response in case of any emergency. “From the time a phone call lands at the Dial 100 call centre, the entire process is recorded. The average response time is less than 10 minutes. Senior officers constantly monitor the response time,” she says. The IG supervises 310 SHE teams and dedicated special police teams to respond to women safety issues across the state.
Road accident deaths are another major public safety concern. Recently, a speeding car flew off the Biodiversity flyover and landed on a woman waiting beneath the flyover to catch an auto. She died instantaneously.
In another case, a businessman driving a BMW in a drunken condition went in wrong direction near a five-star hotel in Madhapur and rammed a motorcycle.
A young techie was killed and his friend suffered severe injuries in the mishap. Police blamed negligent drivers in both the cases as they were able to obtain evidence of speeding and drunken driving in both cases.
Source: Times Of India
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