HUNDREDS of CPI(ML) activists held a rally in Deoria from the railway station to the Collectorate on 6 September 2018 to demand a High Court-monitored CBI enquiry into the sexual violence in the Deoria shelter home. A meeting was held at the Collectorate after which a 7 point memorandum was submitted to the Collector.
Hundreds of activists with flags, banners and placards, led by AIPWA National General Secretary Com. Meena Tiwari, CPI(ML) State Secretary Com. Sudhakar Yadav, and other leaders.. The activists, mostly women, marched from the railway station raising slogans against the Yogi government and Home Minister Rita Joshi. The rally culminated in a meeting at the Collectorate. Addressing the meeting, Comrades Meena Tiwari and Sudhakar Yadav said that even at Muzaffarpur, the Nitish government was unwilling for a CBI enquiry into the shelter home sexual violence, but he had to bow down to the pressure from our agitations; similarly, we shall not rest until the UP government is also forced to agree to a CBI enquiry monitored by the High Court.
The meeting made the following demands: survey all government shelter homes receiving grants and make the report public; all girls and women who have disappeared from all the shelter homes should be produced and authenticated; enquiry into the adoptions of children from the institution run by Girija Tripathi; financial audits of all shelter homes should be made public; probe into the role of officials from the women and children department who sanctioned grants disregarding and flouting all rules.
A tense situation developed when the SDM who came to accept the memorandum said that they must give the memorandum quickly as he had no time to listen to it being read out. The activists protested against this and started raising slogans. Finally, his senior ADM came out to receive the memorandum.
