Women don't feel safe in Delhi, CM Sheila Dikshit admits yet again

New Delhi: A day after a man shoved an iron rod down a 19-year-old girl's throat for resisting rape in Delhi, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has yet again admitted that women don't feel safe in Delhi. "At this moment there is no feeling of safety in Delhi following yesterday's rape at Lajpat Nagar," Dikshit said.

This came after a 25-year-old man working with a local power distribution company allegedly assaulted a girl brutally by shoving an iron rod into her mouth while attempting to rape her. Police arrested the man on Tuesday on charges of attempt to murder and rape while the girl is admitted to a private hospital where her condition was stated to be critical.

This is not the first time that Sheila Dikshit has admitted to security lapses in Delhi. In December 2012, after a 23-year-old was brutally gangraped inside a moving bus in the capital, the Delhi Chief Minister had said the city was unsafe.

Reacting to the Delhi Chief Minister's statement, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Smriti Irani said, "I think this is an admission of bad governance." Irani said she was outraged to see the Chief Minister passing the buck to the Central government. She said the Congress as a whole was failing to secure the citizens of the country.

Calling the Chief Minister's statement 'irresponsible', Irani said it was the Chief Minister's duty to ensure an administration that protects the city. Referring to Sheila Dikshit's television interviews of December 2012, in which she broke down while speaking on the Delhi gangrape case, Irani said, "Shedding tears in public and fulfilling your responsibilities are two different things."

On Tuesday, Anil, who works with a local power distribution company, had come to the house of the girl at around 8.30 pm on Monday to collect monthly electricity dues.

Since the girl knew him, she let him inside the house in Lajpat Nagar. "After coming to know that the girl was alone at her house, he tried to force himself on her and assaulted her when she resisted.

Police said the man inserted a rod into her mouth when she resisted his attempt to rape her. "She sustained severe injuries in her mouth and the attempted strangulation had left bruises all around her neck", Ajay Chaudhry, Additional Commissioner of Police, South East District, said.

He said the man has been booked under Sec 376 (rape), 307 (attempt to murder) and 452 (trespass) among other sections of the Indian Penal Code. Chaudhry said Anil knew the girl and lived in Jal Vihar camp in Lajpat Nagar.

Police received a call and when they reached the spot the victim was already shifted to a hospital and the accused has escaped.

"Further enquiries showed that Anil's maternal uncle lived at village Ismailpur, Faridabad, and Anil could be hiding at his house. Based on this information, the police team raided the house in Ismailpur and apprehended Anil at 04:30 am today," he said.

(With additional information from PTI)

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