NCW says women molested in Bhatta-Parsaul, seeks CBI probe

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New Delhi, May 21 : Backing Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's claim that women were raped and molested in Uttar Pradesh's Bhatta-Parsaul village, the National Commission for Women (NCW) Saturday demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter.
'We have prepared a preliminary report which states that the women in the village have been molested and sexually assaulted. There are allegations that they have been raped but it could be confirmed only after all the investigations are over,' said Yasmeen Abrar, acting NCW chairperson, demanding a CBI inquiry into the incidents.
The village in Greater Noida, near the Indian capital, has become the epicentre of the movement against land acquisition for an expressway project.
An NCW team which visited the village May 12 noticed ransacked homes, horrified women, hungry and helpless children and bones of human beings lying in the ashes on the ground.
'There are bones of human beings lying with the ashes of burnt bodies. The family members of the villagers have been burnt alive. The burnt houses bear the marks of flames on the walls. Villagers, especially women, are not just broken, but terrified,' said Abrar.
An NCW team visited the village after a delegation of villagers met its officials and alleged rape, molestation and sexual assault of women by policemen countering protests over land takeover.
Supporting Gandhi's claim that women were molested in the village, the report said the women alleged that a group of about 10-12 policemen tore their clothes, paraded them naked and teased them.
Besides demanding an inquiry into the matter, the report also asked the government to deploy women constables and lodge a first information report (FIR) on the victims' complaint.
'Till now, not even a single FIR has been lodged, neither is there any women constable for rescue (of women)...we request for a CBI probe as police is itself a party in the crime,' said the report.
According to the report, women in the village go out in groups as they were terrified of police.
Meanwhile, reacting to the forensic examination done by the state government to check if there were any human bones in the heaps of ashes in the village, Abrar said: 'I do not believe in the forensic report which denies the presence of any human bones in the village. We have got certain proofs and pictures, which we cannot disclose now, to prove it.'
The report also has testimonies of around 20 villagers with their signatures that describe the condition of villagers and all that they have been going through.
The women rights panel would be submitting the report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
A fresh 11-member team comprising retired judges, lawyers, social activists, civil society members and some NCW members would be visiting the village in a couple of days to work on the second report.
'This time, we will bring more facts and proof along with us to prove the negligence of the Uttar Pradesh government,' said Abrar, who would be heading the 11-member team.
Gandhi earlier staged a daylong sit-in to back the farmers' demand for higher compensation for land takeover after a clash saw four people, including two policemen, killed in firing May 7.
He also met the prime minister with a delegation of farmers from Bhatta-Parsaul and handed over pictures of ashes with bones, injured people and ransacked houses.
He quoted villagers speaking of 'mass murders, repression and rapes' by police in the village.