Dozens of students led by DAV (PG) College students’ union general secretary and Aryan Group leader Sachin Thapliyal met the State DGP BS Sidhu at Police headquarters on Tuesday and demanded police station be established at Narayan Bagar area where a minor was allegedly raped and murdered by an expelled policeman and resident of Kimoli, Chamoli district Virendra lal.
“With this area coming under revenue police, no effective policing is being done. The girls are feeling insecure in the wake of the incident. This is more so as they have to trudge around six to seven kilometers to reach their high schools. Their parents are worried too. Setting up a regular police station is a must to instill sense of security among the worried,” he said.
Thapliyal said that the incident is a horrendous one the like of which seldom happens in the state. “We are all still in a state of shock. It is a collective shame for all of us who pride ourselves on hailing from Devbhoomi, lauded for peace and harmony,” he added.
The students’ leader appealed to the DGP Sidhu to take the rape cum murder case as the rarest of the rare ones and ensure that the case is fought in the court seriously so that the accused is given the maximum punishment. “It must act as a deterrent to such crimes in future,” he added.
He said with 85 gram sabhas under Narayan Bagar area falling under the charge of a single Patwari, things are grim on the ground. “Besides, the Patwari is making false report on the complaints to let the accused off the hook in lieu of bribery. In this case too, the Patwari had allegedly tried to suppress the case without going into the details. The local residents have lost confidence in the Patwari who is supposed to be hand in gloves with the criminals,” he said.
“The drunkards are on the rampage in Narayan Bagar area with the revue police’s connivance. The women are at the receiving end of things. Corrective measures are an imperative to restore their confidence and to strike fear in the criminals,” the students’ leader said.