During the last one week this serene state witnessed a number of development mounting pressure on the four and half year Virbadhra Government as it was on receiving end facing the wrath of people, political parties, even ruling Congress party for mishandling the gang rape and murder case. Various political and social organizations today formed a Joint Justice Forum for maintaining pressure on the Government to nab the real culprits in the Class X school girl gang rape and murder case that has shaken the hill State from the past few days.
About two dozen social organizations made a combined forum called “Gudiya Nayaya Munch” and pledged to fight it jointly till the actual criminals are put behind the bars. Representatives from organisations like the YWCA, Shimla Citizens Forum, Pensioners Associations, Medical Representative Associations, AIDWA, Valmiki Sabha, Ambedkar Welfare Society, SFI, Gyan Vigyan Samiti, Kisan Sabha, AITUC, State Resource Centre and various NGOs and RTI activists participated in the meeting and appealed to other organisations also to join the forum, said Vijendra Mehra, who has been made the Co-Convener. Ms Sharda Dhamseth, a relation of the victim school girl has been made as the Convener.
The forum demanded an immediate removal of the State Director General of Police and a time bound inquiry by the CBI. It has also demanded a full protection to the family of accused Suraj who was killed in the custody and has squarely blamed the State government and the Police administration for saving and helping the real accused. The forum would give a memorandum to the DM and SP tomorrow regarding the security of the family of the person who died in the police custody.
Meanwhile the protests continued all over the State on Friday also and the effigies of Chief Minister and the Himachal Police were burnt at various district headquarters. The BJP did a massive protest on the Gandhi Chowk in Hamirpur under the leadership of former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal and burnt the effigy of Mr. Virbhadra Singh despite a heavy Police presence. He has appealed to people to join the protests on humanitarian grounds and above party lines so that the probe should reach its logical end.
Even the Congress activists led by PCC chief Sukhwinder Singh also participated in the protests today and condemned the mishandling in the brutal rape and murder case by the State Police. The leaders including some Ministers and MLAs sat in silence in the Congress headquarters Rajiv Bhavan. But no leaders from the Chief Minister’s faction joined the protest, said the insiders. Senior leader Major Vijay Singh Mankotia openly demanded CM’s resignation on the issue in a press conference in Dharamsala today and State party in charge Ambika Soni also resigned from her post. Meanwhile the CBI is likely to register the FIR on Saturday after forming the SIT in Delhi by its Special Crime Branch. The High Court had ordered to form a SIT headed by an officer of SSP rank and two others of not less than the rank of Dy SPs.
