According to Laxman, he developed the gadget to ensure that the girls do not fall victims to any molesters. The device can be easily worn by the girls and as it delivers electric shock, it will prevent any person to touch inappropriately or drag the victim.
“The device produces electric shock and it will be a good weapon in the hands of women to retaliate,” said Laxman.
The device can function for over 60 hours on a single charge. Besides, it can also be used or operated with the help of a remote control.
“It is for the protection of girls. I am confident that this can help girls to move freely without any fear,” said a girl student.
Though the incident occurred on Wednesday, it came to light after the survivor lodged a police complaint in connection with the incident yesterday.
According to reports, the woman was sleeping on the verandah of her house when two miscreants abducted and later gang raped her at an isolated place in the nearby forest.
“Based on the complaint filed by the woman, we have today arrested both the accused, who happen to be from the same village,” said a senior police official.
The official further informed that medical examination of the woman and the two accused was conducted today.
The women activists stressed on bringing a law on the lines of the proposed Andhra Pradesh Disha Act, which mandates disposal of cases of atrocities against women within 21 days and handing out death penalty to rapists.
Namrata Chadha, member of the outfit informed that 1,149 women and girls were raped in 2019 in Odisha while conviction rate is such cases is a mere 18.35%, which is quite low.
“We have submitted a memorandum to the Odisha Governor and demanded for urgent measures to ensure that there is investigation and prosecution of culprits in a time-bound manner. This will act as a deterrent and ensure justice for the victims,” said Chadha.
According to Chadha, Odisha Governor has assured to take necessary steps.
The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly had recently passed the DISHA Bill. Sources said the proposed new law has been named the ‘Andhra Pradesh Disha Act Criminal Law (AP Amendment) Act, 2019, as a tribute to the veterinary doctor who was raped and murdered recently in Telangana.
As per the written reply by Minister of State (Home), Dibya Shankar Mishra in the State Assembly, the State witnessed a 17.9 per cent rise in rape cases in 2019 by registering 2,950 cases as against 2,502 cases in 2018.
While replying to a question from BJD MLA Umakanta Samantray said, the Capital city of Bhubaneswar witnessed a 22.2 per cent rise in rape cases with the urban police district registering 149 cases in 2019 as compared to 122 cases in 2018.
Among other districts of Odisha, a highest of 203 rape cases were registered in Mayurbhanj district while 166 and 128 cases were registered in Jajpur and Ganjam district respectively.
Besides, cases of women trafficking increased by 129.4 per cent in 2019. While 51 women were trafficked in 2018, it went up to 117 in 2019.
Molestation cases also increased to 6,848 in 2019 as compared to 5,875 in 2018. Incidents of stalking of women, which was 281 in 2018, also went up to 351 in 2019. Odisha also registered a 13.1 per cent rise in cognizable offence in 2019.
While the date shared by Mishra in the Assembly seems alarming, it is believed that lack of proper planning and implementation of the measures to check crime against women led to such a rise.
Meanwhile, it is also believed that the rate of registration of cases relating to crime against women took a sharp rise following the Nirbhaya incident.