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Centre’s statement on missing women triggers row in Andhra
The statement comes weeks after popular actor and Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan making an allegation that nearly 30,000 women had gone missing in Andhra Pradesh
A statement made by the Union home ministry in Parliament on Wednesday about the disappearance of over 30,000 girls and women from Andhra Pradesh has kicked up a political row in the state with the opposition parties demanding an explanation from the state government on the same.
In a written reply to a question raised in Rajya Sabha, Union minister of state for home affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra said a total of 30,196 females from Andhra Pradesh, including 7918 girls below 18 years and 22,278 women above 18 , went missing in a span of three years between 2019 and 2021.
According to the data, 2186 girls and 6252 women went missing in 2019 from Andhra Pradesh; 2374 girls and 7057 women in 2020, and 3358 girls and 8969 women in 2021.
However, the Union minister’s statement did not mention how many of them had been traced and handed over to their relatives. “The government is taking cognizance of reports of all missing girls and women,” he said, adding that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes the data, which was available until the year 2021.
The statement comes weeks after popular actor and Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan making an allegation that nearly 30,000 women had gone missing in Andhra Pradesh and expressing apprehension that they might have been subject to human trafficking with the help of village and ward volunteers at the grassroots level.
Soon after the Centre made the statement in Rajya Sabha, Pawan Kalyan took to Twitter and said the statement clearly showed that the number of missing girls and women in Andhra Pradesh has been on a rising trend. “Why are our girls and women missing? What’s happening to them? Who will take responsibility?...” he asked.
In a separate statement, Andhra Pradesh BJP Mahila Morcha media convener Sadineni Yamini said the disappearance of thousands of women in AP was a matter of concern. “The statistics released by the central government on missing women shows that the safety of women in the state is in danger,” she said.
She alleged that the YSR Congress party government was not taking any steps for the protection of women and wondered whether there were any anti-social forces behind the missing women. “What is happening to all the missing women? The government should answer,” Yamini said.
On Thursday, speaking to reporters at Kadapa, Director General of Police (DGP) K V Rajendranath Reddy said as per the records available with the state government, only around 26,000 girls and women were reported missing between 2019 and 2021.
“Of them, 23,354 women and girls were traced and were returned to their respective families. Another 2,700 are yet to be traced. We are on the job of finding their whereabouts,” he said.
The DGP said there were various reasons for the missing of women and girls, including socio-economic reasons that compel them to leave their homes. “We need to work out a comprehensive strategy to address the underlying issues and safeguard vulnerable people,” he said.
Pawan Kalyan, at a public rally held in Eluru on July 9, said that 30,000 women went missing from the state and of them, only 14,000 were traced and the fate of another 16,000 women was not yet known.
He alleged that village and ward volunteers, appointed by the state government, were relaying information pertaining to single women, widows and destitute girls and passing on the information to anti-social elements. “These elements are making use of this information to target women and traffic or trap them,” the Jana Sena Party president said.
His remarks angered village volunteers at several places and they held protests against Pawan Kalyan. A day later, senior YSRCP leader and Andhra Pradesh Women’s Commission chairperson Vasireddy Padama served a notice to the actor asking him to furnish proof of his claims within 10 days.
“What’s the evidence for your comments, which can cause fear about women’s safety in society? Your remarks violate the dignity of single women. What are the figures that the Union government provided you regarding women handed over through village volunteers to anti-social forces?” she asked.
On July 13, the police at Vijayawada registered a criminal case against Pawan Kalyan for allegedly making wild allegations against village and ward volunteers appointed by the state government.
Acting on a complaint made by a village volunteer Digamanti Suresh Babu, a case was registered against Pawan Kalyan at the Krishna Lanka police station in Vijayawada under sections 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 505 (2) (making statement conducive to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.
