The National Commission for Women (NCW) has come down heavily on the State government and the police for the delay in filing charge sheets in the sexual harassment and criminal intimidation complaints against Raghaveshwara Bharathi Swami of Sri Ramachandrapura Mutt.
Commission Chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam, who met the victim who filed a complaint against the seer last month, here on Tuesday said the State “lacked political will” in taking action against the seer.
“If no concrete action is taken at the earliest, the NCW will intervene directly in the cases and ensure that the victims get justice,” she said. Expressing displeasure over the delay, she said, “It is unfortunate that the accused is still scot-free while the victims have to walk around with covered faces. Both the women are apprehensive of their safety and in this case, unfortunately, political will does seem to be lacking.”
Pointing out that the police have not filed the charge sheet even after one year of the first complaint against the seer, she said, “I hope the police will act swiftly in the second complaint.”
She said she will again write to the Chief Minister, the Governor and the Home Secretary seeking speedy investigation into the cases.
The NCW chief said nearly 70 per cent of the 200 cases that the commission gets every day are from north Indian States, with Uttar Pradesh topping the list. Most of them are related to domestic violence.
“After UP, it is Gurgaon–Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Bihar from where we get huge number of cases. Comparatively, there are fewer complaints from the southern States and very few from north-eastern States and this could be because of an issue of accessibility,” she said.
If no concrete action is taken at the earliest, the NCW will intervene directly in the cases and ensure that the victims get justice.
