Vijayawada: Legal Clinic seeks speedy redressal of Dalits' issues
Principal Secretary of Social Welfare department Anuradha, Joint Director of Prosecutions Subbalakshmi, DSS national convener Geeddam Jhansi, Director of Social Welfare Raghuram participating in the legal clinic organised by Dalit Sthree Sakthi in Vijayawada on Tuesday
Vijayawada: Dalit Stree Sakthi (DSS) organised a legal clinic here on Tuesday to take the problems of Dalit and Adivasi women victims to the notice of the officials of the departments concerned.
National convenor of DSS, Geddam Jhansi who presided over the meeting at Ambedkar Bhavan, appealed to the officials to redress the grievances of the victims at the earliest.
The plight of 30 victims were presented to the officials who included the Principal Secretary of Women and Child Welfare department Anuradha, Principal Secretary of Social Welfare department Kaki Sunitha, Joint Director of Department of Prosecutions Subbalakshmi, CID SP Ratna, Director of Social Welfare department Raghuram and retired IAS officer Akunuri Murali.
The victims narrated their woes to the officials and sought redressal of their grievances at an early date.
Jhansi said that it has been a Herculean task for the people's organisations to seek remedy under the SC,ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and get the accused punished. In fact, the investigation should be completed under this Act in 30 days. However, due to various reasons and social equations, the investigation itself is delayed let alone the punishment of the perpetrators.
Most of the time once the case was filed the middlemen would intervene and try for reconciliation by offering incentives to the victims.
Principal Secretary Kaki Sunitha assured the victims that they would protect the victims. She recalled that the State government was providing job security to the rape victims though it was not mandatory. The victims are helped with financial aid within seven days.
Principal Secretary Anuradha advised the young victims to study and secure jobs to come up in life. She asked them not to agree to the reconciliation measures of marriage.
Director of social welfare department Raghuram, retired IAS officer Akunuri Murali, AP convenor of DSS Hemalata, DSS activists Bhagyalakshmi, Keertana, Jabali, Sai, Sujata, Mary Nirmala, Prasanti and others also participated.