A member of the National Commission for Women (NCW) claimed that if the woman had not gone out alone in the evening, the rape-murder of the Anganwadi worker in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun could have been stopped.
“I tell women again and again that they should never go out at odd hours under anyone’s influence,” NCW member Chandramukhi Devi said on Thursday, when she visited the family of the woman.
“I think if she had not gone out in the evening or was accompanied by any child of the family perhaps this incident could have been avoided. But this was pre-planned as she was called through a phone call. She went (out) and then returned in such a state,” Devi said.
In a late night crackdown by the police on Thursday, along with his two subordinates, the prime accused in the case, a temple priest, was arrested.
Anganwadi, a 50-year-old worker who went to a temple outside her village, was found dead on Sunday. The temple priest and his aides took her body in a sports utility vehicle (SUV) to her home, according to the police complaint.
The family members of the survivor suspected the temple priest and his aides of raping and killing her and a lawsuit against them was reported.
Devi visited the victim’s family and took note of the steps that authorities had taken in the case. The area’s Station House Officer (SHO) was dismissed.
The incident was “most sickening and unfortunate”, she said, pointing out that suspending the SHO was not enough. “The incident was most heinous and strict action should be taken. The government is very serious on these matters and yet such incidents take place,” she said.