State capital unsafe for women; 7 assault attempts in 3 months

women-safety
Video grabs of various attacks on women in Thiruvananthapuram in the past few months. Screengrab/Manorama News

Thiruvananthapuram: The state capital is increasingly turning unsafe for women, with the police failing to prevent attacks against them happening at an alarming rate, of late.

There were seven instances in the last three months in the heart of the city alone when women fell prey to all kinds of atrocities. And in a majority of cases, the accused are yet to be nabbed and are still in their hideouts.

The notorious case when a woman doctor was sexually assaulted by a man donning a visor when she went for a morning walk at the Museum happened on October 26. The Kerala police couldn't nab the accused, who turned out to be the driver of a minister’s personal secretary, for days altogether. Though they finally managed to take the culprit into custody, such incidents continued to happen.

Unidentified men attacked women at Vanchiyoor on November 24 and again at Kowdiar on November 26. The man who committed the atrocity against a girl student at Kowdiar is still on the run.

Even as the police went slow in catching the accused, another incident happened, again in Vanchiyoor. A man who arrived at a house seeking money for offerings molested the girl there. After this, two incidents of attack against women happened in Kanakakunnu locality. Out of this, the police couldn’t even identify the accused in the incident on Friday last.

All these atrocities are happening despite the claims of the 3000-strong police force, which includes the DGP, the ADGP and the IG too, ensuring women’s security in the state capital. And most of the attacks are happening as the dawn sets in. The alarming rate of crimes shows that the attackers are having free reign. It shows it’s the assailants who roam around safely and not the women, despite the authorities' claim to this end.

Yet another woman targeted in Kerala

capital; hunt on for bike riders
A middle-aged teacher returning after attending a literary festival at Kanakakunnu was attacked by a duo who arrived on a bike the other day. According to police, two unidentified men on a bike attacked the Thrissur native at 11.45 pm on Friday. The incident happened at Kanaka Nagar Gate, one of the entrances to the Nishagandhi auditorium. The locality is just a stone’s throw from the Museum police station.

The woman was returning to her rented accommodation at Thampanoor after attending the literary fest when the unexpected attack happened. The two people, along with her, were walking a little ahead of her. Meanwhile, a bike came from the opposite side and the pillion rider hit her on her face and neck.

The area was not well-lit, and the assailants had turned off the light of the bike. The accused made their escape good by the time the two people accompanying her came rushing.

They quickly passed on the information to the police control room. The Museum police informed that efforts to identify the assailants with the help of CCTC images in the locality are on.

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.