New Delhi : Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal on Sunday took a flight to reach Imphal to call on the sexual assault survivors in the strife-torn Manipur. Before leaving, she said that she was going to Manipur to visit the sexual assault survivors in the wake of shocking videos that came out from the state. The very shot videos triggered a massive outrage across the country with pressure building up on the BJP governments in the State and the Centre.
Explaining reasons for her visit, Swati Maliwal asserted that she was going to take stock of the prevailing situation in Manipur and because there was a law and problem there. She termed the sexual assault cases that came out from Manipur as terrifiying and that she wanted to extend her services to the victims as an activist.
The DCW chief had earlier said that she had sought time to meet Manipur Chief Minister and would request him to meet victims along with her. In a letter addressed to the CM, she urged for his support for her visit to provide help to the sexual assault survivors. She pointed out that Manipur women were coming to Delhi to escape violence and assaults in the State.
On her present visit, Swati Maliwal said that the Manipur Government first agreed to her demand to visit the northeastern state. Later, the Manipur government sent a reply asking her to postpone her visit in the wake of the law and order situation in the state. She said that it because of a law and order problem in the state that she was visiting the victims.
Swati Maliwal referred to the Manipur CM's purported statement that there were hundreds of such incidents and she asked whether the government reached out to the survivors and whether it provided relief to the victims. Did the government provide any counseling, legal aid, or compensation to the survivors? she asked.
