The incident of a mother losing her life while trying to save her teenaged daughter from drunken ever-teasers in Guntur district has caused an all round outrage with all the political parties joining hands in demanding stringent action against the culprits.
Kantha Suneela, a Dalit woman died when a gang of eve-teasers pushed her and she fell down before a speeding truck. The incident occurred in Tenali town of Guntur district when some anti-social elements tried to outrage the modesty of 19-year-old Mounika.
The shocked girl alleged that though some policemen were present on the spot, they did nothing to help her or stop her tormentors.
Even as local Congress MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao visited the shocked family, the police appeared to be dragging its feet in taking action against the culprits. Mounika alleged that even after she recorded her statement giving the details about the incident, policemen tried to take her signature on some blank papers to alter her statement as she had also blamed some policemen for the incident.
Amid the growing criticism against the Government’s failure in ensuring safety of women, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy strongly condemned the incident and directed the police to take serious action. “People should have humanity and respect for women,”, he said assuring that the guilty will be brought to book.
The issue was threatening to take political and caste colour. Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti president Manda Krishna Madiga visited the family and demanded that the Prevention of Atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act should be made more stringent to stop such growing incidents of attacks on Dalit women in the State. He said that the local MlA and Speaker N Manohar’s failure to visit the family of the victim was raising doubts whether he was trying to shield the guilty as one of the accused was his follower.
Meanwhile, YSR Congress party honorary president YS Vijayamma announced that she would visit Tenali town and meet the family of the 19-year-old victim.