Priyanka Gandhi to address Cong's women's convention in Bengaluru on Jan 16
Bengaluru (PTI): Aimed at galvanising the support of womenfolk ahead of Assembly polls in Karnataka, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be addressing a women's convention here on January 16, party's State president D K Shivakumar said on Monday.
He said the party is planning a separate manifesto for women ahead of polls, due by April-May, and want's to release a "guarantee letter" expressing Congress' commitment towards them.
The KPCC chief was speaking to reporters after inducting JD(S) leaders from Ramanagara and Mandya districts - Vishwanath and Radhakrishna - respectively along with their supporters at the party office here. Vishwanath had even contested against Shivakumar in Kanakapura assembly segment earlier.
"Women are 50 per cent of the population, Congress has decided to prepare a separate manifesto for women regarding the ways in which the party can contribute to betterment of their lives and addressing the issues faced by them. Also building leadership among them and strengthening them," Shivakumar said.
Highlighting Congress' programmes for the betterment of women, he said, the party intends to release a "guarantee letter" for womenfolk along with the manifesto ahead of elections, and as part of this effort suggestions and inputs have been invited from all leaders till January 15.
"Also a massive convention of women leaders from Panchayat and society level to right up to the top level has been organised on January 16 at Palace Ground in Bengaluru, several national leaders will be attending this event including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra," he said.
Noting that she will "review the process", and address the convention and make some announcements for women on behalf of the party, the KPCC chief said, details about the event will be shared soon.
This will be Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's first "political visit" to the State, and she will be sending a message to the womenfolk of Karnataka, he added.
Claiming Congress as the champion of women's cause by having reservation for them, Shivakumar in response to a question said, it is the party's resolve to give them strength politically, educationally, economically and socially in accordance with their population.
Stating that price rise has become a major issue that is affecting normal lives of people, Shivakumar said, the BJP government had promised to double the income, which did not happen, but the price of essential commodities is increasing.
The Congress is thinking about how to address the issue of price rise and is preparing a manifesto under the leadership of senior party leader and former Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, he said. "We will also be soon coming out with details and BJP's misrule and misdeeds."
Shivakumar also said that both him and Siddaramaiah will be starting a statewide tour soon in the run up to Assembly polls, and will share the details about its nature, reason and number of days of the tour soon.
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Deaf and mute woman breaks 16-year silence, exposes serial sexual abuse, blackmail in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): A deaf and mute woman's complaint about a sexual assault that took place 16 years ago in Mumbai has unmasked a serial predator, revealing a disturbing pattern of abuse and blackmail he perpetrated on several women from the community.
The accused was arrested on December 13 after the survivor broke her silence recently following the suicide attempt by one of the women he allegedly sexually harassed.
Disturbed by the suicide attempt, she confided in her friends during a video call about the assault that occurred in 2009.
According to the police, the survivor, a resident of the western suburbs, communicated in sign language during a video call with her friends and colleagues, who were part of a WhatsApp group, that the accused had drugged and raped her when she was a minor.
She also took her husband into confidence, and with support from Thane Deaf Association president Vaibhav Ghaisis, activist Mohammed Farhan Khan, sign language interpreter Madhu Keni, and a retired officer from the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities Divyangjan, the survivor approached the police.
The survivor, her husband and a few of her friends went to the Kurar police station, where her statement was recorded in camera, with Keni as interpreter, and the accused, Mahesh Pawar, was arrested a few hours later from Virar, a suburb in Palghar district.
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Recalling the trauma she endured 16 years ago, the survivor said that a female friend had invited her to explore the city in July 2009 and took her to Pawar's home in Vakola, Santacruz, an official said.
The accused allegedly offered her samosas and some beverage to celebrate the female friend's birthday. The survivor said she was forced to have the drink, which Pawar had allegedly spiked, and after a while, her friend left her alone with him.
The accused allegedly overpowered and raped her, and later blackmailed her with the recorded video of the assault.
The trauma of assault stayed with her over the years, and the attempted suicide of another woman from the community, allegedly assaulted by Pawar, propelled her to come forward.
A probe has revealed that the accused had similarly drugged and assaulted speech and hearing impaired women and threatened them into silence by blackmailing them with obscene videos, a senior police officer said.
The accused allegedly shot obscene videos of several women, using which he blackmailed them and extorted money, gold and mobile phones, he said.
He allegedly forced women into participating in nude video calls with him and recorded these to threaten them, the official said.
"As per initial investigation so far, we have evidence of his abuse of seven women, but the number can increase to more than 24," the official told PTI.
While Pawar has been remanded in judicial custody, no other woman has come forward with a complaint against him as yet, he said.
Talking to PTI, Keni said all women who have survived abuse and harassment by Pawar want to lodge a complaint against him.
She claimed that the accused had extorted money from one of the women he abused, but did not return the sum even when she needed it for a medical emergency.
