Violence mars filing of papers for UP block panchayat chief; SP, Congress blame BJP
Lucknow, Jul 9: The Opposition on Friday attacked the ruling BJP, accusing it of resorting to violence and disrespecting women ahead of the elections to the posts of the block panchayat chief.
In a statement, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav charged the BJP with damaging democracy in the state.
First to win the elections of the zila panchayat chairpersons and now the block chief posts, the BJP has displayed open hooliganism in the entire state, he said.
The former chief minister said the BJP claims to be a disciplined party but has come down to such a low that it did not desist from misbehaving with women.
They have committed the sin of tarnishing the honour of women, he said, alleging that in Lakhimpur Kheri, BJP workers misbehaved with his party candidate Ritu Singh and her proposer Anita Yadav, pulling their sarees .
In a series of tweets, BSP supremo Mayawati said during the polls for the district and block panchayat chiefs, the gross misuse of official machinery, money power and violence reminded her of the Samajwadi party rule.
That is why the BSP decided not to contest both these indirect elections, she said.
Meanwhile, state Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu expressed shock over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, saying it shows BJP's audacity to do cheer haran .
It tells that the government in Uttar Pradesh was watching everything like 'Dhritarashtra' and openly patronised the goons, he alleged, seeking an apology from the BJP government.
The manner in which the goons openly misused the government machinery, played with the honour of women and prevented Opposition candidates from filing nominations proves that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its government do not believe in democracy, Lallu said in a statement.
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Primary accused in 96.6 pc POCSO cases were close acquaintances: NCRB
New Delhi (PTI): In 96.6 per cent of 44,126 cases of sexual abuse of minors, close acquaintances have emerged as the primary offenders, according to the latest data released by the NCRB.
In its report 'Crime in India 2024' released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 44,126 total cases have been registered under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act under Sections 4 and 6 which pertain to penetrative sexual assault on minors during the year across the country.
The figures present a grim picture as close acquaintances emerged as primary accused in 42,634 (around 96.6 per cent) of the 44,126 total cases falling in that category, according to the latest NCRB data.
The data shows that family members were involved in 3,658 cases, while family friends, neighbours, employers or other known persons were named in 16,668 cases.
The largest share came from friends, online friends or live-in partners acting on the pretext of marriage, with 22,308 cases.
Cases where the offender was unknown or not identified stood at mere 1,492, or 3.4 per cent of the total.
Among states, Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of POCSO cases at 5,320, followed by Maharashtra at 4,829 and Madhya Pradesh at 3,721. Uttar Pradesh was next with 3,671 cases.
In Union territories, Delhi accounted for the highest number of cases at 1,038, followed by Jammu and Kashmir at 228 and Puducherry at 82. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported 77 cases.
The data also shows that Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Tripura and several Union territories, including Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Ladakh and Puducherry, reported 100 per cent of cases involving known offenders.
