Girls scared to step out of homes

CHANDIGARH: Girls of these five Haryana villages even reported of feeling so insecure that they were scared to step out of their homes.
While former sarpanch Rambhaj, who participated in the panchayat, said they had already apprised the police about the situation, SHO Safidon Balwant Singh said, "There was some violence in the area on Thursday as a result of which the villagers protested.But, it was just a stray incident in which people quarrelled." Even though he denied any sexual harassment on that particular night, he failed to give a satisfactory answer on whether or not such offences were taking place in the villages.
Worried about hooligans making life hell for young girls, another panchayat member asserted, "Authorities will have to make a commitment about the safety of women in the area." Sunil of Ramnagar Channa was visibly upset that despite a written complaint from villagers to the police, 'such incidents happened almost on a daily basis against girls in the five villages’. In an apparent attempt to prevent things from getting worse with annual examinations approaching, panchayat member Ram chand said, "We had to act to ensure safety of our girls."