Police report on Haritha issue sought

Vigilance committees at local body level will be strengthened, says Chairperson

The Kerala Women’s Commission has sought a police report in connection with the Haritha case. Action would be taken based on the report, chairperson P. Sathidevi has said.

The complaint filed by 10 women, who were erstwhile members of Haritha, the women’s wing of the Muslim Students Federation, affiliated to the Indian Union Muslim League, was heard at the mega adalat in the city on Tuesday. Ms. Sathidevi said the students had been subjected to verbal sexual harassment. However, the respondents did not turn up in the case. Of the 162 cases heard at the adalat, 71 met with the same fate. “This is a very disturbing trend. A lot of respondents fail to turn up for the hearing. Now, we will seek the help of the police to bring them to the hearing,” she said.

Speaking to the media after the mega adalat, Ms. Sathidevi said the commission was taking steps to strengthen and activate the vigilance committees in every local body that were formed 25 years ago, but fell defunct over a period of time. The commission was planning to organise district level training and orientation programmes for the committee members as a first step.