Public Outrage Over Vijayawada Girl Suicide After TDP Leader's Sexual Harassment

VIJAYAWADA: The incident of the suicide of a minor girl in Vijayawada alleging sexual harassment by a leader of opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has sent shock waves in the city and sparked public outrage across the State on Sunday.

People, women welfare organizations, and the YSR Congress Party leaders have demanded that the TDP leader named Vinod Jain should be severely punished for sexually abusing a minor girl leading to her suicide. A candlelight rally was held from the intersection of seven roads in Kadapa to the YSR Circle to protest against the TDP leaders' atrocities.

YSRCP women's city president TP Venkatasubbamma said that the suicide incident and the letter written by the Vijayawada girl was heart-wrenching and demanded that the alleged perpetrator Vinod Jain be severely punished. The way TDP leaders behave with women is not new and many such crimes have been committed while they were in power. The Call Money Sex Racket is proof of this, she said.

YSRCP state secretary Afzal Khan, AP Social Welfare Board chairman Puli Sunilkumar and Corporator Shafi also participated in the rally. Candle shows were held at Raptadu,  Kadiri, Puttaparthi, Bukkarayasamudram and other places in Anantapur district.

YSRCP MLA Topudurthi Prakash Reddy and a large number of women participated in the candlelight rally held in Raptadu. A candlelight rally was held from the Zilla Parishad office in Anantapur to the YSR statue on Subhash Road. ZP Chairperson Girijamma, women corporators, YSRCP women leaders participated in the rally. Municipal Chairperson Pariki Nazeemunnisa, Vice-Chairperson Kommu Gangadevi, and others lit candles at Indira Gandhi Square in Kadiri.

At Puttaparthi, YSRCP  MLA Dudukunta Sridhar Reddy’s wife Aparna Reddy formed a human chain near the Hanuman junction. From there a candlelight rally was held to the Vidyagiri Arch. A candlelight protest was held in front of Dr. Ambedkar’s statue at Bukkarayasamudra. In Kurnool, many women came forward to pay homage to the girl and lit candles in front of the Gandhi statue. They demanded the accused should be severely punished for his crime.

Leaders of several women's groups organized a candlelight rally was organized in Nellore to pay homage to the girl. YSRCP Nellore parliamentary district president and corporator M Gauri demanded that TDP leader Vinod Jain, who was responsible for the incident, be severely punished. Padmaja Yadav, Rama, Lakshmi, and Munilakshmidevi, leaders of the party's women section and the in-charge of the party participated in the protest.

Large-scale candlelight rallies were held in Naidupet, Gudur, Muthukur, Ongole, Vinukonda in Guntur district, at various places in East Godavari district. Protests were held at Tuni and in Visakhapatnam, at Palasa, Veeraghattam, Narasannapeta, Ranasthalam and other places in Srikakulam district. The women organizations demanded the harshest punishment to the culprit.

The 14-year-old girl jumped to death from the fifth floor of her apartment building in the Bhavanipuram area on Saturday. In a suicide note, she wrote that she was ending her life due to sexual harassment by Vinod Jain, who resides in the same building,” West Zone ACP K Hanumantha Rao stated to a news agency.

Vinod Jain had earlier contested the recent municipal elections as a corporator on a TDP ticket. Police have arrested the accused and have been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Also Read: Vijayawada Suicide Victim's Mother Heartbroken, Seeks Justice