Taking a serious note of the rising cases of criminal and sexual assault on women in the State in 2015, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday sought a report from the Director General Police (DGP).
The commission, acting on a petition filed by Angul-based Human Rights Watch secretary Sangita Swain, directed the DGP to submit an action-taken report (ATR) within eight weeks.
Swain submitted an article published in The Pioneer titled “Odisha again tops in ‘disrobing’ women” to the NHRC on the basis of which the notice was served to the DGP.
With a whopping 1,957 cases of criminal assault on women with intention to disrobe, Odisha in 2015 saw a record rise in sexual assault cases against women. The State also dubiously held the top position in the country in ‘disrobing’ crime leaving Uttar Pradesh and Bihar far behind, the article stated.
Swain prayed the commission to take immediate steps to check the rising sexual assault cases against women in Odisha and take the State police to task for failure in taking lawful action.