Write Comment     |     E-Mail To a Friend     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Print

MANGALORE: Lawyer Hemalata Mahishi on Sunday said the homestay attack case is foolproof and should lead to the conviction of the accused, provided the victims, especially girls, testify against them.

She was speaking after releasing ’Communal policing by Hindutva outfits’ a joint fact finding report on the homestay attack by People’s Union for Civil Liberties- Karnataka, Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore, Forum Against Atrocities on Women, Mangalore here on Sunday.

Recalling several cases which did not reach the logical conclusion as witness turned hostile or refused to testify, Hemalata said, "Such cases are not one-day affairs. The victims and their families need a lot of courage to withstand pressure that is being piled on them day in and day out. Forums like you need to stand behind them and give them required courage.’’

Hemalata rued that it is sad that it took only a few people to tarnish the image of Mangalore, which had more cosmopolitan outlook than Bangalore at one point of time. She wondered how moral policing outfits got such courage to take the law into their own hands with such impunity. She said, "If these goonda elements were using this as a stepping stone in politics, are these type of leaders that the society could expect in future?"

``It’s a shameful incident in a country where women are regarded as mathe’(mother). If the goons were trying to save culture through these attacks, which culture were they trying to save? The majority is ashamed by these incidents and does not tolerate it in the name of culture," she added.

Panel heads should be from non-political background

Lawyer from Bangalore Hemalata Mahishi on Sunday advocated appointing a person without any political background as the chairperson of panels and commissions, especially the Karnataka State Women’s Commission.

Hemalata said the commission’s chairperson C Manjula’s utterances against victims were least surprising as she was appointed by her party.

``How can she utter anything which embarrasses the government,’’ she asked adding that this is the reason why a chairperson and members should come from a non-political background and should have adequate knowledge about the panel they are heading.

Home stay attack: Fact finding team demands action against moral policing outfits

MANGALORE: The joint fact finding report on home stay attack has demanded the state should ensure there is no parallel administration to the state and ensure that no group, is allowed to impose their ’moral code’ on the people of Dakshina Kannada, supplanting the Constitution.

Eminent lawyer Hemalata Mahishi on Sunday released the report - ’Communal policing by Hindutva outfits’ a joint fact finding report on home stay attack by People’s Union for Civil Liberties- Karnataka, Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore, Forum Against Atrocities on Women, Mangalore.

Apart from demanding quick trial and taking stern action as per the provisions of the Indian Penal Code against accused, the report demanded state to develop guidelines on the lines of the ’Guidelines on Communal Harmony’ by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Union of India to prevent communal policing.

The fact finding team demanded that the district administration initiate externment of all those who have been repeatedly involved in these criminal acts of communal policing; action against police officials who failed to act speedily enough to prevent the birthday party attack as well as for comprehensively failing to take any immediate action against the perpetrators and withdraw prosecution against the journalists against whom chargesheets have been filed.