October 13, 2014
ALL INDIA DEMOCRATIC
WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION
NO. 2253- E, SHADI
KHAMPUR, NEW RANJIT NAGAR,
NEW DELHI-110008
PH: 011-25700476,
25709565
Email :
[email protected]
13th Oct. 2014
PRESS RELEASE
It is
now confirmed that the young woman from a village in Meerut who had
earlier alleged that she was abducted, gang-raped and then forced to
convert to Islam has now approached the Meerut police to seek protection
from her own family. She has told the police that her earlier statements
were completely false and that she had entered into a relationship with
Kaleem of her own free will. Her family has since then become aware of the
facts of the case and are now threatening her. The young woman has
requested protection from the district authorities and has been sent to a
Nari Niketan.
An
AIDWA delegation had visited the hospital in Ghaziabad where the young
woman was admitted on 9th August and had met her family
members. We had issued a statement then in which we said that while we
fully sympathised with the young woman who was in great distress and in
bad health, there were serious discrepancies in her story and, facts that
had come to light about the reasons for her earlier hospitalisation, also
conflicted with her statements. We had, however, said that her statement
must be acted upon by the authorities until further enquiries were carried
out. At the same time we condemned the way in which the BJP and its
sister organisations were using the incident to inflame communal passions
and using it as evidence of the ‘love jehad’ that they insisted was being
carried out in UP and other parts of the country.
Now
that the young woman has come forward with a truthful account of what
actually transpired AIDWA demands that:
1.
The young woman be given full protection;
2.
Her family members be instructed to refrain from any violence against her
and, if they continue to threaten her, be proceeded against according to
the law;
3.
All those who were arrested because of her earlier statements be
immediately released from jail and all cases against them be withdrawn;
4.
Cases be registered against all those who indulged in activities and
propoganda that led to communal tension in Meerut and adjacent districts.
AIDWA
expresses its grave concern at the fact that women face the greatest
insecurity not only in public spaces but within their own homes. ‘Honour
killings’ and the fear that they inspire are responsible for much violence
and also for miscarriage of justice in many cases. We have demanded and
drafted a law to deal with this atrocity. It needs to be enacted at the
earliest.
Sd/-
Malini Bhattacharya (President)
Subhashini Ali (Vice President)
Jagmati Sangwan (General Secretary)
Information