New Delhi:

The mother of Nirbhaya, the victim of the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, has demanded the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying she had “failed” to handle the situation after widespread protests broke out against the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata.

The 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered during her duty hours at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. Her colleagues and doctors across the country have been holding protests to seek justice for her.

Speaking to the news agency PTI, Asha Devi also slammed Ms Banerjee for “trying to divert people’s attention” by holding protests. Ms Banerjee had led a rally this week demanding the death penalty for the guilty in the case.

“Instead of using her authority to take action against the culprits, Mamata Banerjee is trying to mislead the public,” Asha Devi was quoted as saying by PTI.

“She herself is a woman. She should have taken strict action against the culprits while discharging her responsibility as the head of the state. She should resign because she has failed to handle the situation,” she added.

Ms Devi also said that until central and state governments get serious about seeking swift punishment from the court for rapists, such brutality will continue to take place in different parts of the country every day.

“When girls are not safe in Kolkata’s medical college and such barbarity is committed against them, then one can understand the state of women’s safety in the country,” she told PTI.

Centre’s Order To States On Kolkata Horror Protests

Amid nationwide protests over the trainee doctor’s rape and murder in Kolkata, the Centre has issued a diktat to all states asking them to submit reports on law and order situations every two hours.

As per the notification, the Ministry of Home Affairs has directed all state police forces of the country to send reports every two hours via mail, fax or even WhatsApp.

“Regarding two hourly law and order situation reports. The competent authority has desired to monitor the law and order situation report of your state/UT against the murder of a trainee woman doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal. Henceforth, a continuous two-hourly law and order situation report in this regard may kindly be sent to the MHA control room by fax/e-mail/WhatsApp from 4 pm today (16/08/24), the MHA reportedly said.

NDTV has learnt that states have started sending reports, starting August 16.

New Delhi:

Asha Devi, the mother of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape victim, has called on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to support AAP MP Swati Maliwal, who has accused his close aide of assaulting her.

Talking to news agency IANS, Asha Devi said that the AAP leader had fought atrocities against women as the former Delhi Commission for Women chief and Mr Kejriwal should ensure that strict action is taken against the accused.

“AAP came to power in Delhi while tapping on the anger and outrage of people in Nirbhaya case. If Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal is not safe, then what could one expect for common women,” she added.

She called on Mr Kejriwal to support his MP and ensure that “Swatiji gets justice”

“He (Arvind Kejriwal) should take action against this. He is the chief minister of Delhi. He calls himself the brother and son of the people of Delhi. Keeping that in mind, he should speak out and take stringent action against the accused,” she said. 

Ms Maliwal responded to Asha Devi’s message, thanking her for her support. “Nirbhaya’s mother has fought a long battle for justice in the country. Even when I was on a hunger strike to punish child rapists, she supported me. Today, she made this video in support of me. I am very touched,” she said in a post on X

“But some leaders will call her a BJP agent for supporting me!” she said, taking a swipe at AAP leader Atishi, who alleged that the AAP MP was part of a BJP “conspiracy” against Mr Kejriwal.

Ms Maliwal’s accusations against Mr Kejriwal’s personal assistant Bibhav Kumar have kicked up a political firestorm. She had alleged that Mr Kumar had kicked her in the chest, stomach and pelvic area before “brutally dragging” her at the chief minister’s residence on May 13.

Mr Kejriwal, who had initially remained silent over the case, called for a fair investigation into the matter in his first direct reaction to Ms Maliwal’s claims on Wednesday. However, the Aam Aadmi Party chief added that there are two versions of the event.