CM Stalin slack on women safety, says Annamalai; DMK’s poser on RPF

CHENNAI: Slamming MK Stalin-led DMK regime for the alleged rise in sexual assaults against women in the State, TN BJP president K Annamalai on Friday sought to know if the Chief Minister is not even bothered about the lack of safety for women of all ages.

In the wake of media reports suggesting alleged sexual harassment of a grade IV student by the staff of a private school in Manapparai and alleged sexual assault of a four-month pregnant woman, who was pushed out of a moving express train near Vellore, Annamalai said such recurrent incidents are worrying.

Even before people could recover from the shock of sexual abuse on a class VIII girl student by three teachers of her school in Krishnagiri, there were multiple reports of crimes against women in the State, he said.

Citing media reports about the sexual harassment of a girl student by a physical education teacher of a government school in Salem and the murder of the wife of the panchayat vice president in Tirupattur, all on Friday, the State BJP president said that there was a flurry of reports about sexual assaults against women in Tamil Nadu.

Where was RPF, asks DMK

Joining the issue with Annamalai, the DMK IT wing took to social media to hit back at the BJP and said, “The person who assaulted the four-month pregnant woman aboard a Coimbatore – Tirupati train has been arrested by the Tamil Nadu police. Where was the RPF guard who must have been on security duty on board the train then? What are the measures taken by the Union government to ensure women’s safety during train journeys?”

Meanwhile, TNCC Congress President K Selvaperunthagai insisted that armed guards must be deployed on ladies’ coaches in trains to improve the safety of passengers.