Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that the police were taking stringent actions against those who were harassing women for refusing their love proposals, reported PTI.
Vijayan told the state Assembly that the police would keep a tab on citizens who have a history of harassing and stalking women. He said that the police would continue to monitor such offenders to ensure that they were not planning anything extreme against women.
The statement came in the wake of the killings of many women in the state by men after their proposals were rejected, according to PTI. In the latest incident, a 24-year-old dental college student was shot dead by a man identified as Rakhil in Ernakulam district on July 30. The man had then shot himself too.
Congress MLA PT Thomas raised the matter in the Assembly and demanded that the intelligence wing be more vigilant to ensure the safety of women. Thomas also said that the mental health problems related to such incidents should also be addressed, reported The Hindu.
To this, Vijayan said the help of mental health experts can be sought.
Another Congress MLA Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan demanded that the government form an investigation team of women officers to investigate complaints of harassment.
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On dowry
Vijayan also called for isolating families engaged in giving or taking dowries and asked legislators to stay away from such marriage ceremonies.
“Only by socially isolating such families will the girls get the courage to refuse to be part of such marriages,” he said. “We should strive for a situation where our boys also would say that they are not ready for a marriage by taking dowry. Awareness has to be created with such an aim.”
Responding to a question on attacks on women and dowry-related deaths, the chief minister noted that often families of the bride and the groom agree on a dowry. Later when things go wrong, they raise complaints, he said.
The Kerala Police have recorded 212 dowry-related deaths in the last 13 years, according to The New Indian Express.
Cyberstalking
In reply to another question on strengthening laws on cyberstalking, Vijayan said there were certain limits to enact such legislations.
“It should be ensured that such laws did not create other dangers,” he said. “The police were taking stringent action against such forces, although there were weaknesses that need to be addressed.”
On the matter, the chief minister also said that investigators should consider the psychological aspect of people attempting to trap women via cyber platforms.
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