Men should use their 'strength' to protect women, not control them: Stalin

Talking about the murder of a 20-year-old college girl by her stalker at a railway station here, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday said the incident “shattered” him, and appealed to the society and parents to take the lead in ensuring that similar incidents don’t recur in the future.

Stalin also said a “man may be stronger by nature” but the strength should be used to “protect women” and not control the actions of others, while asking parents to teach social lessons to their children irrespective of their gender in addition to other subjects to keep them aware of their responsibilities in the society.

Sathya Priya, a third B. Com student at a private college, was pushed before a moving train by 23-year-old Sathish, who is believed to have stalked her for over a year, at the St. Thomas Mount suburban station here on September 13. A day later, her father, Manickam, died by suicide, unable to fathom the sudden death of his daughter.

In his address at a job fair here, Stalin said everyone who heard about Sathya Priya was shattered. “I was also shattered. This is not the society that we want or envisage. The society as a whole should take steps to ensure that such incidents don’t recur in the future. Parents should take social lessons for their children,” Stalin said.

He also said parents are vested with the primary responsibility of ensuring that their children “don’t go off the track.” “By nature, a man may be stronger. But strength should not be used to control others. The strength should be used to protect women,” the Chief Minister said in his speech.

However, Stalin did not mention about the role of police in controlling such incidents as the men in khaki have come in question for not acting against the stalker despite the deceased girl filing two complaints in connection with Sathish allegedly troubling her.

Sources said Sathya Priya filed a complaint in May which was registered as a Community Service Register (CSR) and another complaint filed in June was closed after the two sides – Sathya’s mother is a police personnel while Sathish father is a retired policeman – arrived at a “compromise.” The man was left off with a warning, but he continued to stalk Sathya for a year.

“The stalking increased after Sathya got engaged to another person. He would come wherever she goes. He never mended his ways. He then met the girl at the station on Thursday and picked up an argument before pushing her to death,” a friend of the girl said.

A police officer said the murder seems to be “pre-planned” as Sathish visited the station at the same time for three continuous days. “The accused claimed during investigation that he was to die by suicide after pushing the girl to death but had to escape as people caught him,” the officer added.