The deadlock between the Congress-led Rajasthan government and the widows of Pulwama martyrs, which entered its 5th day today, has turned murkier. The National Commission for Women (NCW) Thursday (March 9) took cognisance of the video that went viral on social media on March 4, showing Rajasthan cops, working at the behest of the Congress govt, assaulting the widows of 2019 Pulwama attack martyrs.
Taking to Twitter, NCW wrote that it has taken cognizance and Chairman Rekha Sharma has written to DGP Rajasthan to personally investigate the case. The NCW has also directed the DGP to initiate an investigation into the women’s complaints of harassment and assault against police officers. It has also directed the police to submit a detailed ATR to them.
@NCWIndia has taken cognizance. Chairperson @sharmarekha has written to DGP Rajasthan to personally look into the matter and conduct an inquiry into allegations of mistreatment and assault levelled by the women against police officials. Detailed ATR must be apprised to NCW. https://t.co/NjE89AnoOF
— NCW (@NCWIndia) March 9, 2023
The video which was widely shared on Twitter was first shared by BJP Rajya Sabha member Kirori Lal Meena on March 4. The BJP leader, notably, has been at the forefront to help the widows of the Pulwama martyrs to get their due compensation promised by the Congress govt in Rajasthan. He had accompanied the widows of the 2019 Pulwama attack martyrs to the protest site.
In the video, a huge group of Rajasthan police, mostly female officers, can be seen manhandling and dragging three women protesting against the unfulfilled promises made by the Ashok Gehlot Govt. The cops first asked the women sitting in protest to move to one corner of the street. The cops then forcefully dragged and picked up the protestors and threw them in a police van, while the women continued to resist and protest.
आज तीनों वीरांगनाओं के साथ राज्यपाल महोदय @KalrajMishra जी को ज्ञापन देने राजभवन गया था। ज्ञापन सौंपने के बाद वीरांगनाएं मुख्यमंत्री जी से मिलने के लिए मुख्यमंत्री आवास की ओर पहुँची तो पुलिस ने उनके साथ अभद्रता व मारपीट की।
— Dr.Kirodi Lal Meena (@DrKirodilalBJP) March 4, 2023
1/2 pic.twitter.com/OyG5DKFVRs
According to reports, the women were protesting against the unfulfilled promises on part of the state government and were on their way to meet CM Ashok Gehlot when they were dragged and thrashed by Rajasthan cops. Reports said that some women protesters were injured during the face-off while a few of them had fallen sick.
‘Beaten, stripped and pricked with a pin’: Manju Jat, the wife of Rohitash Lamba, who died in the Pulwama terror attack narrates her ordeal
Manju Jat, the wife of Rohitash Lamba, who died in the Pulwama terror attack, was injured in police action and was taken to hospital. In a subsequent video that went viral, she could be seen crying and explaining how they were manhandled and thrashed by the Rajasthan cops. “Why were we attacked? We were there to raise our demands,” she broke down.
वीडियो में बिलखती हुई वीरांगना को देखिए, यह देशसेवा में प्राणों की आहुति देने वाले स्वर्गीय रोहिताश लांबा जी की पत्नी श्रीमती मंजू जाट हैं, जो पुलिस की बर्बर पिटाई के बाद SMS अस्पताल में भर्ती है। अब आप आंखों को नम करके सोचिए कि प्रदेश में सत्ता में कैसे पत्थर-दिल लोग बैठे हैं! pic.twitter.com/Q5gso5pppT
— Dr.Kirodi Lal Meena (@DrKirodilalBJP) March 4, 2023
Manju Jat also wrote to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot alleging that the police beat her up, stripped her clothes and even pricked her with a pin. She alleged that the police threw her as if she was a gunny bag when she was going to meet the Chief Minister.
“Unable to bear the torture by the police, I am on an infinite hunger strike since March 4 and the Chief Minister will be responsible if something happens to me,” she said.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra has also written to Ashok Gehlot, asking him to look into the matter. Mishra said that the four war widows have sent a letter to him seeking permission for euthanasia, as he urged the Chief Minister to ensure that the right action is taken.
Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has shared a video of CRPF jawan Rohitash Lamba’s widow Manju, saying that Gehlot should stop this ‘dictator-like’ behaviour.
शहीद रोहिताश लंबा जी की वीरांगना श्रीमती मंजू जाट ने सीएम को लिखे पत्र में बताया है कि पुलिस ने उन्हें पीटा, कपड़े उतारे और आलपिन चुभाई।
— Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (@gssjodhpur) March 8, 2023
वहीं सीएम साहब जरूरी कदम उठाने के बजाय ट्विटर में वीरांगना को गलत ठहराने के बयान जारी कर रहे हैं।#नहीं_संभलता_तो_छोड़_दो pic.twitter.com/RlLVLpftys
Referring to Manju’s allegations of police brutality, Shekhawat said that instead of taking the necessary action, the Chief Minister is issuing statements on Twitter to blame her. “The government should break the fast of the widows of Pulwama martyrs. Gehlot ji, this dictatorship will not work,” Shekhawat said.
Meanwhile, a four-member BJP delegation on Wednesday met Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra and sought his intervention in fulfilling the demands of the widows of three CRPF jawans martyred in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack.
The delegation was led by Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore and included former minister Arun Chaturvedi and MLAs Ashok Lahoti and Ramlal Sharma.
वीरांगनाओं की मांगों पर राज्यपाल ने सीएम को लिखी चिट्ठी: बीजपी नेताओं ने गवर्नर को ज्ञापन दिया;किरोड़ी बोले-सरकार का आचरण थूककर चाटने जैसा https://t.co/2yhvHcH9nE @DrKirodilalBJP@Rajendra4BJP @ramlalsharmabjp @AshokLahotyBJP pic.twitter.com/r0MfJB723X
— Goverdhan Chaudhary (@Goverdhan__) March 8, 2023
Submitting a memorandum to Mishra, the delegation sought his intervention in the matter. Later, the governor wrote to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and asked him to resolve the issue after considering the rules.
The wives of the three slain forces personnel had earlier staged a dharna at the Shahid Smarak over the non-fulfilment of promises that the state government made to them after the attack.
“When my husband became a shaheed (martyr), the ministers who visited us, the media, we all saw them praising him. We thought that we will send our children too to fight for our country. But with folded hands, we say that we will not send our kids…Nobody is with us today. The government doesn’t listen to us, instead uses police to disperse us. Why do they call us Veerangana when our voices are not heard,” Manju told Indian Express on March 3.
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot accuses BJP of using Pulwama martyrs’ wives for political mileage
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday targeted the BJP, saying some of its leaders were disrespecting the widows of martyrs and using them to gain political mileage.
Without directly naming BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena, who has been sitting on a dharna with the widows of the martyrs, Gehlot said in a statement, “Some BJP leaders are disrespecting the wives of the martyrs by using them to gain political mileage. This has never been the tradition in Rajasthan. I condemn it.”
The widows’ demands include installing statues of the slain jawans, giving jobs to their family members on compassionate grounds and construction of roads in their villages.
Pulwama terror attack
On February 14, 2019, a convoy of vehicles carrying Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel to Srinagar via National Highway 44 came under a suicide bombing attack.
22-year-old Adil Ahmad Dar, a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist from Kakapora in Jammu and Kashmir, rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a bus carrying the CRPF personnel. 40 jawans were martyred in the attack.
