Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday attended the launch of a new programme for women's safety in the state. Launched on Navratri, the six month long "Mission Shakti" programme will reportedly end on the day of Vasanta Navratri in April.
"To pay homage to the victim of a very unfortunate incident, I decided to kick-off Mission Shakti campaign from Balrampur and I'm extremely delighted to launch this programme. Mission Shakti aims at guaranteeing security and respect for every woman in the state," the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister added that there would now be a separate room now for women complainants in 1535 police stations across the state. Here, a female police constable would attend to them and urgent action would be taken. "Culprits of crimes against women will be punished swiftly," he said.
In recent months, Uttar Pradesh has repeatedly been in the news for a series of horrific crimes against women and children. From the alleged gang-rape of a 19-year-old in Hathras, to the murder and gang-rape of another woman in Balrampur to multiple similar crimes against children - the list has been rather long and horrifying.
A few weeks ago, the National Crime Records Bureau had released their report on crimes in the country in 2019. The NCRB report shows a rise in crimes against women, and revealed a rather chilling set of numbers. As per the report, a woman is raped every 16 minutes in India, and in every four hours a female is trafficked. Overall, Uttar Pradesh had ranked at the top of the list when it cames to reported crimes against women.
