Over 500 rapes and other atrocities on women in Andhra Pradesh on CM Jagan's watch: Nara Lokesh

TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh has alleged that 517 rapes and other atrocities on women took place in Andhra Pradesh since Jaganmohan Reddy became the chief minister over two years back.

The ex-minister has blamed Chief Minister Reddy for “the non-stop pain and suffering of women victims of such atrocities, as they were not getting justice either under the Nirbhaya Act or the non-existent Disha Act in the state.”

Lokesh, son of former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, was detained by the AP police for some time in Vijayawada on Thursday as he embarked on a visit to Narasaraopet to console the family of a girl student killed by a jilted man a few months back.

“The accused culprits in rapes and murders are coming out on bail and threatening the victims' family members, contrary to the government's claims on Disha Act punishments within 21 days. Over 517 atrocities and rapes took place in the past two and half years. The Chief Minister owes an apology to the girls and women of the state for not being able to curb these barbarities even now,” Lokesh said, later addressing reporters.

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Lokesh stated that the CM's inefficiency has left the Disha legislation unapproved by the Centre. It was brought in by Reddy in 2019, in the wake of a Hyderabad veterinarian’s gang-rape-murder, to deliver speedy justice for women.

“If the YSRCP government did not stick to its unapproved Disha legislation, all the 517 cases would have been registered under the Nirbhaya Act. The culprits would have got stringent punishment and they would not have come out on bail like this. Now criminals and anti-social elements are continuing heinous acts unabated. Within the last 21 days, over 17 atrocities have taken place,” the TDP MLC said.

A woman was allegedly robbed of her jewelry and raped by four men on Wednesday night at Medikonduru in Guntur district, when she was returning from Guntur on a bike with her husband to their hometown Sattenapalli. The unidentified men overpowered her husband and reportedly raped her in the nearby fields and then fled from the spot.

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