Police in northern India used water cannons to disperse hundreds of
protesters who were demonstrating against the authorities’ seeming
inability to halt sexual attacks and violence against women.
The protesters, members of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which controls
India’s federal government, were demonstrating outside the headquarters
of the administration of Uttar Pradesh state, which has been the
location of a flurry of rapes and attacks.
The BJP protesters demanded that the state government, headed by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, do more to improve security for women. They have accused Mr Yadav and his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who heads the ruling party in UP, of being soft on crimes against women.
The protests follow the rape and murder last week of two cousins, who were seized and assaulted after they went into the fields to relieve themselves. The girls, believed to be aged between 12 and 14, were then hanged from a mango tree on the edge of the village using their own scarves.
Relatives said when the girls went missing, police refused to investigate the case and abused them over their low-caste status. The family’s caste is at the very bottom of the Hindu social structure, whereas the three alleged attackers and the police officers on duty belong to the yadav caste, which is the “dominant” caste in the area. Five people - the three suspects, who are brothers, and two police officers - have been detained.
The BJP protesters demanded that the state government, headed by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, do more to improve security for women. They have accused Mr Yadav and his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who heads the ruling party in UP, of being soft on crimes against women.
The protests follow the rape and murder last week of two cousins, who were seized and assaulted after they went into the fields to relieve themselves. The girls, believed to be aged between 12 and 14, were then hanged from a mango tree on the edge of the village using their own scarves.
Relatives said when the girls went missing, police refused to investigate the case and abused them over their low-caste status. The family’s caste is at the very bottom of the Hindu social structure, whereas the three alleged attackers and the police officers on duty belong to the yadav caste, which is the “dominant” caste in the area. Five people - the three suspects, who are brothers, and two police officers - have been detained.
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/indian-police-use-water-cannons-to-disperse-womens-rights-protesters-after-gangrape-and-murder-9474305.html
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