Daughters against rape

Daughters against rape
Amidst the recent deluge of rape cases in the state, this one stands out, if only for its gruesome irony. Two daughters of a rapist father have demanded exemplary punishment to their father for raping a seven-year-old girl.

The incident took place at Haladia, about 200kms from the capital. The man in question, Karunakar Das (40), had allegedly raped the girl on Saturday and had later killed her.

Police arrested the culprit soon thereafter. “Our father should not be released from custody. He should be hanged till death for this heinous crime,” said Rajani, the youngest daughter. “We don’t feel secure with our father anymore,” said the elder daughter Sarojini, a class VII student.

Lord of the poor
Orissa has a Garib Rath at last. The special train, announced last year in the rail budget, has been pending since. But following chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s forceful protest, union ministry of railways announced its introduction on Sunday.

However, the train would only ply between Ranchi and Bhubaneswar, thrice a week. This time round, Lalu has linked Darbhanga in Bihar with the pilgrim town of Puri by introducing a special train, which will enable pilgrims from Bihar to undertake a comfortable journey to visit Lord Jagannath in Puri.

Apparently, Lalu’s Jagannath darshan with his family last month has paid off. He had spent nearly two and half days at Puri, and had offered prayers to the Lord.

Courtship under fire
The gang-rape of a university girl in Samblpur, about 500 km from Bhubaneswar, has angered the State Commission for Women (SCW) to such an extent that it has taken to moral policing to curb rape cases in Orissa.

Codenamed ‘Operation Park’, it involves raiding reputed parks of the city. When the first raid was conducted last week, out of fear and shame, many lovebirds ran amuck to find cover. A few were injured in the process.

However, some were also caught as the commission had taken the help of police to lay the siege. They were then admonished and asked not to visit secluded corners of the part. As a result, couples are now keeping away from parks fearing humiliation.

Interestingly though, the operation has not gone down well with some NGOs, who have threatened to drag the commission to court.

News Source : Samachar