Members of various organisations in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada staged demonstrations against the Manipal gang-rape for the fifth consecutive day here on Tuesday.
Addressing a protest meeting organised by the Udupi division of Insurance Employees Union (IEU) in front of the Clock Tower here, the convener of women’s wing of IEU, Nirmala said atrocities against women was rising because perpetrators in such crimes perpetrators manage to get out of the jail either using political or money power.
Earlier, members of the Union took out a procession from IEU office at Ajjarkad to the Clock Tower.
A delegation of district unit of Janata Dal (Secular) met the Superintendent of Police M.B. Boralingaiah and submitted a memorandum demanding an impartial inquiry and immediate arrest of the culprits.
The JD(S) delegation said that bars and discos remained open till late night in Manipal contributing to a rise in the number of crimes. Last year, two students had drowned in the Mannapalla Lake, but the investigation left a lot to be desired.
Members of the district unit of Jaya Karnataka staged a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s Office in Manipal. In a memorandum submitted to the Deputy Commissioner, the organisation demanded the immediate arrest of the accused.
President of the Catholic Sthree Sanghatan Udupi Diocese Leena Roche, in a separate memorandum, urged the government to ensure proper treatment to the medical student. Adequate security should be provided to women’s hostels, the memorandum said.
A delegation of Udupi Women’s Forum led by its president Jayasri Krishnaraj met Mr. Reju and expressed distress over police not being able to make any arrests in the gang-rape case so far. Immediate steps should be taken to arrest the culprits and punish them, it said.
Our Mangalore Staff Correspondent reports:
Expressing solidarity with the victim, hundreds of members belonging to the Kerala Samajam, Mangalore took out a march from K.S. Rao Road, Hampankatta to the Deputy Commissioner’s Office on Tuesday.
T.K. Rajan, President of Kerala Samajam, Mangalore said, “This heinous and brutal crime needs to be deplored by the entire society. Steps should be immediately taken to bring the culprits to book and handed exemplary punishment. They do not deserve any sympathy from anyone.”
The Samajam members submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner N. Prakash. Activists of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) also staged demonstration condemning the incident. CPI (M) district secretary B. Madhava blamed the college management for lapses in providing adequate security for students on the campus.
