- 1 hour ago
This news broadcast covers key developments concerning women and child safety across India. In South Delhi's Kalkaji area, a seventeen-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped in Aastha Kunj Park by three men impersonating police officers. Delhi Police apprehended the three accused—Asif, Hemant, and Mukesh—following an encounter in Amar Colony where the prime suspect sustained a bullet injury. The incident has heightened security concerns around public spaces near Lady Shri Ram College, prompting student discussions on campus safety and online classes, alongside panel debates involving parliamentarians and activists addressing administrative accountability and judicial reforms. In Bihar, police arrested key suspects following an encounter linked to the viral assault and molestation of a minor girl in Jamui. Additionally, the broadcast details the ongoing investigation in Tamil Nadu regarding a child abuse case involving granite businessman Veeramani, co-accused Shanti, and a probe into an alleged seventy crore rupees financial trail.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:05All right, we have the latest news break right now coming in horrific details emerge in the Delhi
00:09rape order. Victim had gone to Kalkaji Mandir on her birthday. Victim's friend made the call
00:16to the Delhi police. The victim's friend was held away as all three took turns to gang rape
00:23this young girl. She was gang raped on her birthday. She had gone to the Kalka Mandir.
00:28After that, she went to visit this park with her friend. The park is managed by DDA, barely
00:34lit, multiple unsafe spots. Locals claim park gates not regularly closed as well. Today,
00:41the Delhi police conducted patrolling sanitization drive at the park. Once again, too little,
00:47too late, viewers. I will take you through on what really happened when a 17-year-old young girl
00:53who had gone to the Kalkaji Mandir in South Delhi on her birthday with a friend of hers.
01:00After that, had gone to the park in Kalkaji, the Aastha Kunj Park in Kalkaji, which is frequented by
01:08many. She went there with her friend. There she was attacked by three men posing as police personnel.
01:15They separated her friend from her. Her friend was apparently held and assaulted while all three
01:22men took turns to gang rape this young 17-year-old girl. I am joined right now by my colleague
01:28Shreya
01:29Chatterjee on the phone line. Shreya, can you detail exactly, you know, what is the latest,
01:35what you have and what really happened that night?
01:38Well, you know, it's an extremely unfortunate incident, PPI. I myself spent some time at the
01:43Aastha Kunj Park today and it is an unsafe spot, to say the least, because it's barely maintained.
01:50There are multiple unsafe zones and that's exactly why these people thought that they could easily
01:55get away with it. Something to me which was extremely shocking to know was it was the girl's
02:00birthday and that's the reason she had visited the Mandir. Then she had gone to the Aastha Kunj Park
02:06and it was around 6.30 when she entered the park. For our viewers, this park is open till
02:128 p.m. The fact that when a park is open, it needs to be managed as well because this
02:17is
02:18a recreational spot and the onus lies on the government that way. So clearly the question
02:23is on the law and order, on the apparatus, that why is a public park maintained by the DDA
02:30an unsafe zone? Because if it's my birthday, very well after visiting a Mandir, I can go to a
02:35park. So this is a bigger question that needs to be answered. Three of these people identified
02:40in the incident are Asif, Hemant and Mukesh. Interestingly, I was told by Delhi Police official
02:46conducting the investigation that one of the accused was also thrown out of the gym for
02:51teasing a woman. So clearly there is a past angle involved with the probability why these
02:56people thought that they could get away with it. But extremely unfortunate incident and not
03:01just one treaty. So many such incidents reported alone because of the national capsule. The
03:06jungle is something the nation is still responding to. And then this happens in the national capsule
03:12in Kalkaji. This is South Delhi area. And it was the girl's birthday. I personally think that's
03:17something that makes the incident even more.
03:20The timeline of this incident. Can you just lay bare the timeline of this incident? You
03:25know, I just want to add to it for those of you, as Shreya just pointed out, she herself
03:29has been to the Aastha Kunsh Park. I have gone to the Lady Sriram College. Many of the girls
03:34who study at the Lady Sriram College live right next to the park in multiple PGs. But can you
03:39give us a timeline, Shreya, of the entire incident?
03:43Well, absolutely. You know, it's around 5.30 around that they went to the Mandir. Then
03:48subsequently they entered the park. They wanted some time alone. And that's exactly when these
03:54three men spotted them. They identified them as Kulik of the schools, tried to scare them
03:59away. The man was taken to a separate area. Now, the reason all this was possible treaty was
04:03what I mentioned. This is an unsafe park. No putzwa, no well-made area. But even then,
04:10the question is, the park is open till 8.00 until it was no fault on the part of the
04:14victim
04:14or the victim's friend to be present there. At 7.30 around 8.00 is when the incident took
04:19place with them. After that, they made a PCR call and subsequently the police has arrested
04:24the individual. But the timeline, as I mentioned, this is not midnight we're talking about. We're
04:28talking about evening. And if on my birthday, on an evening, I cannot visit a Mandir and then
04:33visit a park and keep safe in the national capital. That really puts a lot of question
04:38on the safety and security apparatus of this country.
04:41You know, Shra, the fact is, even if she decided to go out at 12 o'clock, this city is
04:47responsible
04:47for her safety. It doesn't matter whether it was 7.30. Yes, the park was open till 8.00.
04:52She was there well within the hours of the park being operational. But even if this girl
04:57was out at 12, 1, 2, 3 or 4 at night, the city is responsible for her safety. But Shreya,
05:03one very quick question. The girl was admitted to Ames. Is she doing well now?
05:09Well, yes, she is doing well. These were predominantly, I mean, things that the police responded to. She
05:15was given medical support. But even then, now, the police is making a case about it because
05:21they are identifying whether there are any past instances that she would be accused.
05:26they will soon, I mean, they will be reduced in court and there will be a custody sort of
05:30these individuals that what we are learning right now. But extremely unfortunate incident
05:34that's took place. And you're right to say that we should be safe at any point of the time
05:39in the national capital. The time shouldn't be the reason.
05:43Fair point, Shreya. Thank you there for joining us with all the details there. My colleague Shreya
05:47Chattuji, breaking the details down on what's really happened in the national capital. Once again,
05:51viewers, nobody's saying one shouldn't be. But we are fixated with what has happened in Jamui,
05:56primarily because there was visual documentation of that incident in the national capital. There have
06:01been five incidents in five weeks where minors have been attacked. The latest, a 17-year-old young
06:06girl gang raped and also a six-year-old child raped in central Delhi. Where we take you through all
06:14these incidents that have taken place, a deeply disturbing trail of sexual violence across the
06:21national capital. From a teenager allegedly gang raped by men posing as policemen to young girls
06:27targeted in separate incidents across the capital. Here's more.
06:34Four assault cases of minors, 14 days. Delhi's disturbing trail of crimes against minors.
06:45In Kalkaji, a 17-year-old was allegedly gang raped by three men who posed as policemen.
06:50The teen girl had visited a park with a friend. The three men posing as cops accused them of wrongdoing
06:56and threatened to register a case against them. Then separated them and took her to a secluded
07:01part of Aastakunj Park where they allegedly raped her. The hunt began. Asif was tracked to Amar
07:09colony. Police claim he opened fire. A bullet hit her head constable's jacket. Police retaliated.
07:17Asif was shot in the leg and arrested.
07:21The other two accused were then arrested as the police hunt closed in on an entire group.
07:28One accused is a police encounter. The two people are in front of the morning. The two people
07:37were in front of the room. The two people are in front of the room. They were questioned.
07:41The investigation was taken. The following two people. The two people were in front of the
07:49state. They were asked to ask for investigation. They were related to investigation.
08:14Gang rape cloaked as policing, men posing as cops, using the threat of police action to terrorize a teenager.
08:23A chilling echo of Jammui where the crime was allegedly cloaked as moral policing.
08:27And Kalkaji was not an isolated case.
08:33In central Delhi, a six-year-old girl was allegedly raped on a busy stretch of the Deshbandu Gupta road.
08:40Angry locals brought accused to police. A case was registered under the POCSO Act.
08:49Then, another case. In Sadar Bazar, an 11-year-old girl was allegedly raped inside a tailor's shop.
08:55Police say the accused leered her inside, tied her down and later abandoned her outside the shop.
09:00The accused has been arrested and sent into judicial custody.
09:05And days earlier in Swarupnagar, a 16-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped and murdered.
09:11Her body was found dumped in a field.
09:15The opposition is now targeting the BGP government and the Delhi police over women's safety.
09:23Four cases, 14 days and 14 years after Nirbhaya, Delhi is still confronting crimes against girls and minors.
09:30So how much has really changed?
09:32And how safe are women and girls in the national capital?
09:36We have a report, India Today.
09:42Viyos, while, you know, one can get kind of confused when you say, oh, it's happened in Kalkaji, South Delhi,
09:48let me break it down for you.
09:49How many of our viewers actually know about the Lady Sriram College?
09:53Every year, it makes it to the top three colleges of arts across the country.
09:58That's how big and popular this college is.
10:01I am myself an alumni from Lady Sriram College, and this incident happened in the back lane of Lady Sriram
10:07College.
10:08The back lane of one of the biggest and most sought-after colleges, not just in the national capital, but
10:17across the country.
10:18It is an all-women's college where the park where this incident happened in is dotted by PGs where young
10:24girls from the age group of 18 to 21 who go for classes to the Lady Sriram College live.
10:30So let's look at it from that lens.
10:33It's happened in the back lane, this incident of a 17-year-old young girl being gang-raped in the
10:39back lane of the Lady Sriram College.
10:43Connecting now to Renuka Choudhury, member, Indian National Congress, union minister, former union minister for women and child development, member
10:52of parliament, now currently Raju Sabha.
10:54Lalita Kumara Mangalam, former chairperson, NCW, BJP leader, Yodakita Bhayana, women rights activist, and Anusha Garg, who is a student
11:03of Lady Sriram College, and she is also the president of Lady Sriram College.
11:08And, Ms. Choudhury, I'd like to begin with you.
11:11You know, to put this in perspective, nobody once is denying that we shouldn't be horrified what's happened in Jammui.
11:16We shouldn't be horrified.
11:18But because that was visual evidence that was documented, it shocks us that much more.
11:23In the national capital, Ms. Choudhury, there have been five sexual assault cases in five weeks.
11:29In just the last 48 hours, two minors, one 17-year-old girl, gang-raped behind Lady Sriram College, and
11:36one 7-year-old child, 6-year-old child, I beg your pardon, raped in Central Delhi.
11:45Preeti, first of all, I'm speaking today as a woman, a mother, a sister, a daughter.
11:52Really, the rest of the rank and file doesn't matter what stage of life we've reached in our careers.
11:58But I am talking in all these roles because it's concerning us.
12:04And the national capital has been the national capital of rape for many years now.
12:09Now, you go to see, I'm not going to politicize this.
12:13I don't want to put caste politics into it.
12:15I do not want to talk about the failings of all of us collectively.
12:20I can't believe that we are actually sitting and discussing yet another statistic of rape.
12:29Why?
12:30Why are we still in this situation where girls are being raped, the predators all around, we are being hunted.
12:37And we still keep talking about it, talking.
12:42And this government, it's supposed to be the capital of the country.
12:48So how do we?
12:50We've actually had people, countries giving notices to their tourists saying that don't go because it's not safe.
12:58Aren't we collectively ashamed?
12:59I can't believe that young girls, that these creeps and cops, what are we going to do about it?
13:06This is something we cannot keep talking about and we've got to do it.
13:11People don't understand.
13:12There's a whole cascade effect that happens.
13:15Female feticide, infanticide, gender discrimination, laws against women, all these come because parents find having a daughter is a liability
13:27and we can't look after them.
13:30Child marriages, all these practices continue today.
13:33They're keeping girls away from schools and colleges, workplaces don't want to take women.
13:39I was a trade union leader.
13:40I used to have an industry telling me we don't want women quite blatantly.
13:45They'd say, you have to have systemic reforms.
13:48We've got to take good practices from other countries.
13:52People have to be afraid of rape.
13:55Being a girl cannot be discriminated against so much that we have hunted, poached on, knocked down, discriminated against.
14:08And the entire responsibility of being a girl in this society is on the woman.
14:13If you go to a pub and you are heckled or raped there, then it's your fault because you were
14:19out there 10.
14:20It's because of the dress you wore.
14:21It's because of this.
14:23Rape has been a war weapon in history.
14:26Rape has been power politics in states.
14:30Rape has been discriminatory against certain caste women.
14:35And now it is a pastime.
14:38It is accessible.
14:40Anyone can go rape any girl.
14:42Because it doesn't matter.
14:43The law doesn't do anything about it.
14:45That is the failure.
14:48That is the failure.
14:49I want the Home Minister to come out and give an assurance.
14:54Ms. Chaudhary, thank you there for joining us.
14:56You know, I need to, I'm going to cut to President Trump.
15:00But I want to bring in all three of our guests, at least get a comment each from all of
15:04them.
15:04Ms. Chaudhary, thank you for putting your point forward.
15:06And thank you for joining us.
15:08Ms. Badwar, I'd like to bring you in.
15:10You know, you have been the chairperson of NCW.
15:13And it's beyond party lines.
15:14You're from the BJP, Ms. Chaudhary is from the Congress.
15:17The fact is, something needs to change and it needs to change very quickly.
15:21And we need to figure out what's the way out.
15:24Policing, it's not happening.
15:26It's something that needs to take place.
15:27But what is the way out of this?
15:32There is no immediate, there is no immediate intervention that will decree this.
15:41But I think to start with, especially this time, the CM of Delhi needs to come out and
15:47make a very strong statement.
15:49Regardless of what party she may be from, she is the CM.
15:53And it's not about her being a woman.
15:55The fact is that unless she comes out and says that in some way, I will take a personal
16:03interest in this and ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes are not only responsible and
16:09accountable, but also see that the matter is past-tracked and justice is delivered.
16:15One.
16:16Two, as Renuka Chaudhary said, and I agree with her there, we need very strong systemic
16:23reforms.
16:24Not such reforms, very, very strong across the board.
16:27Political parties, politicians need to come together, sit together without doing tutu mehmeh,
16:33and actually see that every state, regardless of who is in power, who is not in power, etc.,
16:40every state puts these reforms into place.
16:45The police is also very slow.
16:47It's not always their fault.
16:49That's why I'm saying that when she says systemic reform, she's absolutely right.
16:53We also need to start actually bringing up our boys in this country better.
16:59They still are way too entitled, and this is across the board.
17:03And as parents, as individuals, as politicians, as human beings, we need to start putting the
17:10needs, and what is the right of every girl that is safety in public places, we really
17:16need to make that perhaps even part of the curriculum.
17:19I mean, if girls are raped within IIT, if you have, which has happened in Chennai, if girls
17:25are raped in public places, in schools, at homes, everywhere, then where are we safe?
17:29And if we are not safe anywhere, what does it say about us as a country, as a people?
17:35It's supposed to be India growing, India shining, and all the rest of it.
17:39These are just terms.
17:40They don't mean anything at all if our girls are still so unsafe wherever they go.
17:46And I think it's time that we really all of us put our differences together, regardless
17:51of what they may be.
17:53Put the past aside and get together to form a really strong, you know, I don't know, it's
18:00not a party, a really strong group, perhaps, and that's a very small word, and get together
18:07to see that everything is put in place.
18:10Maybe responsibilities are divided, but everybody has to sit together.
18:15It can't be one party versus another, one department versus another, etc.
18:19In India, we also lack, you know, coordination.
18:23That has to become better everywhere.
18:26I'm bang on, you're right.
18:28And, you know, you should keep telling girls, don't go here, don't go there.
18:31Imam, you are bang on.
18:32And, you know, the onus is no longer on the women.
18:35I think the women of this country have just had enough, especially of the national capital
18:39with what has happened.
18:40But, Ms. Chaudhuri, I know you want to come in.
18:41Just allow me to bring in our two other guests, because we have a UNGA live summit that we'll
18:46have to cut to.
18:47I just want to get all of them to say a line in.
18:49And I want to cut across Yogita.
18:52I want, before Yogita, you know, if you're all right, I want to bring in young Anusha.
18:55She's the president of Lady Sriram College.
18:57And there's a reason I'm bringing her in, because I have been flooded with, you know,
19:02DMs through the course of the day.
19:03I'm an alumni from Lady Sriram College.
19:06Anusha, you are the president of LSR.
19:08And really nothing much has changed, because in the last 24 hours, I have been flooded
19:13with DMs.
19:14This incident, on paper says, Kalkaji, this incident has happened in the back lane of
19:19the college that you are the president of, Lady Sriram College.
19:23And it is the same lane, Yogita, which many years ago, when I was in college, men openly
19:28masturbated when girls walked, where you had, and, you know, nothing has changed.
19:33Because I have got DMs where young girls are saying, still, you have auto rickshaw
19:37walas who are openly playing porn.
19:39You are openly harassed in that lane, which is never policed.
19:44Nothing has changed.
19:54Anusha, I just want you to detail why are so many of the girls who go to LSR today fear
20:00coming to college, because a lot of them have PG's around that park where this incident has
20:05occurred.
20:06A lot of them have gone home.
20:07Some of the classes have been cancelled because of it.
20:12As a young woman myself, what concerns me is the larger reality that safety becomes a
20:18constant background calculation for us.
20:21What time do we leave?
20:22What route do we take?
20:23Should I share my location with my friends?
20:25Is my phone charged?
20:27How will I manage everything?
20:29So I think we are so accustomed to managing, taking precautions everywhere we go.
20:35For me, real safety means women should be able to participate in ordinary public lives, activities
20:41and stuff.
20:41And I don't want to just beat around the bush.
20:44I want to flag that we, women, the routes, the actual routes that we use every day, maybe
20:52the map that stretches students, repeatedly flagged between colleges, schools, everywhere.
20:58We bring this to concerns, metro stations, metro routes, bus stops, TGs and market area.
21:03There are so many problems.
21:04There is lightning problem.
21:05There is last mile transport problems.
21:09As you mentioned, there is problem of auto rickshaw wallas, openly people masturbating
21:14and stuff.
21:15And I want to say that making and maybe having a proper auditory check, maybe making reporting
21:21simple and trustworthy where students exactly know whom to reach out to, who to reach out
21:27to and what happens, what goes wrong.
21:29And third of all, a civic sense, a civic authority need a system where these reconcerning concerns
21:36are actually worked upon and not just, you know, every day we're having the gates.
21:40Anusha, how many young girls who go to LSR live around the Aastha Kunj Park because lots
21:45of PGs are still there?
21:47Ma'am, around 2,000 to 3,000 girls.
21:502,000-3,000 girls live around the Aastha Kunj Park where this incident happened, right?
21:55Yes.
21:55And how many of them have now gone back home because their parents are so worried?
21:59Because I believe a lot of classes have also been cancelled.
22:02Yes, ma'am, we are actually looking into it.
22:04And right now we are trying to accommodate online classes in our college.
22:09And hopefully we have tried our best.
22:12We are also taking initiatives as students union.
22:16So that's in way.
22:17You know, this is how bizarre it is, Yogita Bhayana, that Lady Sriram College, the top
22:22women's college in this country, the top three colleges across this country today has to resort
22:28to taking online classes because the girls are so scared to come to college.
22:33What else we can discuss?
22:35I mean, for God's sake, we have so many great international summits happening in our country
22:40where we're discussing and finding solutions for international problems and wars and whatnot.
22:45We are unable to protect our own daughters.
22:47We are unable to have a dialogue with each other.
22:50Different agencies under one roof, different governments, they are not able to find solutions
22:56because they are not ready to sit with each other.
22:58We are ready to sit with other country members to discuss the international problems.
23:03But we don't want to solve our own problems, which is the major problem.
23:06Our daughters are being raped every now and then, here and there.
23:11I'm from Miranda House.
23:12I resonated what exactly you said.
23:14Whatever you described happened outside my college even then.
23:17And this girl, I can understand this young girl's, you know, experience.
23:22Why do we have to follow a drill to even step out?
23:24We have a proper SOP for our girls, for ourselves.
23:28Why do we suffer?
23:29Why do we go to online classes?
23:32What is this nonsense going on?
23:33Why can't we protect our daughters?
23:35As simple as that.
23:36And this particular spot, six months ago, I rescued a girl while she was being alive
23:42because some of the volunteers were very active to alert me.
23:46They tried to drag her in an auto, Yogita.
23:48That was the case?
23:50Where this young girl was, somebody tried to drag her into an auto?
23:53No, she was raped inside a juggi.
23:56Okay, that's another incident which was never quite reported.
23:59Because two months ago, a young girl outside, behind LSR in that road,
24:02where Anusha speaking of, where this incident has happened,
24:06somebody tried to drag that girl in an auto.
24:08Yes, that also happened.
24:10But this, we actually rescued her while she was being raped.
24:13And we took her to the police station, Amar Colony Police Station,
24:16exactly the same spot where this incident happened.
24:18And, you know, to my surprise, when Vivi took her and they kept her overnight
24:25because she was from West Bengal, a young girl, 16-year-old.
24:28And she was an orphan and they kept her with the accused
24:33and left out next day, the accused, while we being involved.
24:36I understand, Yogita.
24:38This country is broken where it comes to women's safety
24:41and how they understand women's safety
24:44and how they try to implement the laws around that.
24:47Ms. Choudhury, I want to bring you back into this conversation.
24:49You've been wanting to make a point.
24:50Thank you for the patience, both Ms. Mangalam and Ms. Choudhury.
24:54But Ms. Choudhury, we've come to a place today,
24:56because this is not news.
24:57Lady Sriram College today is looking at conducting online classes
25:01because the young girls who go to that college are so scared
25:04and the administration hasn't been able to instill that faith in them.
25:12Preeti, there's a rape that's happening one in 18 minutes
25:16every day across the country.
25:20Lady Sriram is a privileged college and it's happening even there.
25:24There are hundreds of educational institutes
25:27which don't have the prestige or the recognition.
25:30Governments of India hire the Air Force
25:33to transport exam papers for NEET.
25:37You can't secure the girls.
25:41Why are we so helpless?
25:43That's the point I'm asking.
25:44Why are we so helpless?
25:45You have to have capacity building in judiciary.
25:49You've got to have prosecutors.
25:51You have got to have forensic setups and you have to address chemical castrations.
25:58We already have sexual offenders registries across the country as a law.
26:02How many sexual offenders are reporting there in a police station?
26:06When a man is renting his property to someone, he should know whether that fellow is a sexual offender or
26:13not.
26:13A repeat sexual offender has to be chemically castrated.
26:18There are laws applying all over the world.
26:20Nobody rapes and gets away with it in UAE or United States or they do.
26:25They have other loopholes which they look at.
26:28But their best practices, Japan, other countries that have practiced it.
26:33In some countries, they ask for consent of the guy for chemical castration.
26:36If he can't keep his fly zipped, baby, then get to the root of the problem.
26:43That's how I see it.
26:45I mean, we're just sitting by the wayside, wilting away.
26:49And we've got to protect our daughters.
26:51It is the responsibility of the state.
26:54It is the accountability of anyone sitting in governance.
26:58I don't care which government.
27:00I don't care which party.
27:01Miss Mangalam, would you want to weigh in on this?
27:03exercise and ensure if that message is given.
27:07Every police station now, as an exercise, Preeti, as an exercise,
27:12you have to bring in all the police, have to call in all the sexual offenders.
27:16I don't care whether they're today or yesterday that they've done it.
27:19Good point, ma'am.
27:20Good point.
27:21I want to bring in Miss Kumara Mangalam into this conversation as well.
27:25You know, Miss Kumara Mangalam, the fact is, yes, we are appalled.
27:28I am appalled that nothing much has changed.
27:30And I am appalled that we are in 2026 and India's top women's college is contemplating
27:35online classes.
27:37But, you know, Miss Chaudhary has a point.
27:39There's privilege attached to Lady Sriram College.
27:42Yet we are having this conversation.
27:43What about the others?
27:46I quite agree with her.
27:47I went to Stephen's many, many years ago.
27:50We were the first batch of girls.
27:51The prestige of the college where you study has a direct bearing on, you know,
27:57the opportunities that are given to anybody.
27:59And when girls are prevented from studying in what is called a good college,
28:04you are curtailing their freedom.
28:06You are curtailing their empowerment.
28:08All these big words that I use every day mean nothing.
28:12If they cannot be safe in public spaces, especially educational places.
28:17India needs a huge mindset change.
28:20We still target girls who have been sexually molested, raped, etc.
28:26Somehow or the other, somewhere or the other, maybe those of us who come on TV.
28:30We are the very few ones who actually say loudly that it's not the girls' fault.
28:35It's the state's fault.
28:37It's the perpetrator's fault.
28:38It's the mindset.
28:39The mindset in India also needs to change.
28:42We need to really seriously look at value education in every school across the country, regardless of politics.
28:51We need to make it part of the curriculum where boys are told that, look, Buster, you're also going to
28:59get really badly,
29:00you know, I can't use the word I'd like to on national television, but you're going to get really badly
29:06treated and punished if you continue with your contempt for girls.
29:10All of this stems from the mindset where we think girls don't mean as much as boys, that they don't
29:17have that much worth.
29:18When I see the president of Elisab sitting on this panel and saying what she does, it takes me back
29:26to my student days and just a few years ago.
29:29Nothing much has changed.
29:31And it is now, according to me, in some ways, much worse because we make no promises to the girls
29:37and we're not able to deliver it.
29:39So there has to be a systemic change across the board.
29:43And like I said, without the coordination of every association, organization, government, non-government, everybody,
29:52without finding fault with each other, yes, everybody has made mistakes and must be pinned up for it.
29:57We need to sit down and see how accountability can be enforced.
30:03Everybody top to bottom.
30:05Fair point.
30:05In a country like India, it's impossible.
30:08I just want to bring in, ma'am, I want to bring in Anusha and Yogata right before we get
30:11into a break because we have to cut to the UNGA.
30:13But Anusha, what is it that it will take to pacify the many girls who are now fearful of coming
30:20back to college?
30:21Some of them I know have gone home.
30:23Many of you are very scared and worried for yourselves.
30:28Is there counseling which is going on right now in your college?
30:32Ma'am, yes, my college is taking proper steps for everything.
30:35There has been proper support from our mentors, from the faculty, from principal, from our students' union.
30:41And I just feel that this should be an eye-opener because reportedly there have been 13,000 cases in
30:50Delhi, just talking about Delhi.
30:51And I think this is high time that we maintain proper audits.
30:55We ensure that women's safety is not a joke.
30:57People are actually taking steps.
30:59We have pink booth near our college, but still concerns are coming up.
31:03Is that pink booth ever manned, Anusha?
31:05Is there ever a woman cop in that pink booth?
31:08Because I'm told that booth is only there, which is pink, and nobody's inside that booth ever.
31:13No, ma'am, there is a woman inside the booth.
31:16There is? Okay.
31:17Good, which is good to know.
31:18Anusha, how many classes have been cancelled till now?
31:22Mom classes, okay, so it's regarding the departments.
31:25And some professors are trying to get it online.
31:27Some are just cancelling the classes.
31:31But, yeah, hopefully things get better.
31:34And it's the fear that is, you know, propagated.
31:38No, I hear you, and I'm sorry, because I know you're the president.
31:41You also, somewhere down the line, have to stand up for your faculty, you know, for your, you know, students
31:48there.
31:49I understand you want to protect the repute of your college as well.
31:53And I get all of that.
31:54And I understand you're struggling with, you know, saying what you are also saying.
31:59But I'm glad that you're here today, Anusha, because you sitting there and saying for what it is, is more
32:04than any of us on this panel.
32:06So, thank you, you know, for having the courage and coming out and saying what you are.
32:10Because rarely has it ever happened that girls from affected colleges or presidents of colleges come out and verbalize what
32:19they are fearing or what's happening inside the college.
32:21Because what stays in college, what happens in college, stays inside the college.
32:25Thank you for verbalizing it on national television.
32:28Yogita, you wanted to come in.
32:29I just want to say one thing, Preeti.
32:32One day in parliament, across party line, just discuss this issue, how we can resolve it without having any bias,
32:41any particular party preference.
32:43Just talk about solutions.
32:45Can they do that?
32:46We have chosen them for these things only.
32:50You know, if they can't do that, I've been asking it for last seven years.
32:53None of them have shown any interest.
32:56One day in parliament, at least, they can discuss these.
32:58This is a very important issue.
33:00We have a girl who, in Swaroop Nagar, last week, raped and killed to that level that you could not
33:06even know the gender.
33:07Her body was eaten by animals.
33:11I mean, are we talking about our power capital, our capital of the country?
33:17We are so proud of.
33:19I am not so proud of.
33:20As of now, we need to secure our daughters.
33:23On mission mode, repeatedly, I keep saying,
33:36You are right.
33:38Forget about the BRICS summit because, you know, we have one member of parliament with us from Rajya Sabha.
33:43And Ms. Chaudhary, for somebody like you who is a member of parliament, this is something that you can bring
33:48up.
33:48Because while there might be talks of a special session for whatever it might be, I think this warrants a
33:53special session of its own.
33:55Arjun session.
33:57Yes, I totally agree.
33:59In fact, as of now, parliament hasn't been prorogued from the last session.
34:03So, there's nothing stopping government of India from calling for a three-day, five-day session to discuss this issue.
34:10It's no less important than your nuclear treaties or your BRICS summit or whatever.
34:15We are more than, we are 50% of this population and as empowered by the constitution as every man
34:22in this country.
34:23Why is it that we are being treated like this?
34:26Why is it that our safety is not a concern, a national concern?
34:30That we keep brushing it under the carpet, you want our votes, but you don't want to talk about what's
34:35bothering us?
34:37Of course, we should take it up.
34:39I have given enough notices.
34:41I'll take out my entire parliament history where I'll show you.
34:43I was the one who brought in the laws as woman and child minister when I said domestic violence also
34:48has to be reported.
34:50Fair point.
34:50The headway I made and the threats I got at that time was not funny.
34:55And believe me, each one of us as women who have reached where we have, have been mauled, have been
35:02assaulted, have been abused.
35:05We've gone through that fire and we've reached where we have.
35:09And it is our business that we turn around and reach and hold hands of other women and ensure that
35:15the pathway to girls in this country is safe.
35:17You know, Ms. Chowdhury, thank you for saying that.
35:19And can I just like to say this on national television?
35:22You know, for what you've said, thank you for saying that.
35:26But importantly, thank you for being a current member of parliament and agreeing to sit on a panel with the
35:31president of Lady Sriram College.
35:33Because usually we have MPs who say we will only do one-on-ones.
35:36You know, and that's where it just doesn't matter because then it's never a conversation.
35:40It's always a monologue.
35:41But thank you, you know, for doing that.
35:42But, Mr. Kumara Manglam, I want to bring you in because I think now it's up to the parliament as
35:47well.
35:47There is so much in focus where we talk about bringing a special session.
35:51But I think this is as urgent as anything else in this country, ma'am.
35:56Yes, it is about time that parliament sat up and took a much, much, much greater notice and interest in
36:03this.
36:03And again, I'm not in parliament, but I'd like to request all the women parliamentarians, especially,
36:09who need to sit down and make a lot of noise together.
36:13Parliament will not have a choice but to respond.
36:16Take it to the PM, take it to the Home Minister, take it to whomever you want to take it
36:21to,
36:21leader of the opposition, who you feel will, you know, pay enough attention.
36:26But the problem also is that even in parliament, hierarchy exists.
36:30And often that defeats the good intentions of, you know, people who have the best intentions.
36:35And I'd like, you know, I'd like to make an appeal to all the male parliamentarians also,
36:40regardless of what posts they may be in or not, that for God's sake, every one of you have women
36:46in your families.
36:48Sisters, fiancés, wives, mothers, grandmothers, friends, colleagues, etc.
36:52Put us first for months and sit together.
36:55Like I keep saying, coordination.
36:58Unless in this even the men are drafted, nothing much is going to change even after another 50 years.
37:04So in parliament, if this could be done, I mean, please, it's a personal request across the board.
37:10It doesn't matter.
37:11If this could be done, somebody needs to take it up and do it.
37:16But I think all of us, the rest of us should also come together to, you know, get some 50
37:20,000 signatures or whatever we think and move.
37:23I agree, ma'am.
37:25And we're going to see that it's picked up.
37:28You know, we're going to follow this.
37:31Very quickly, Ms. Choudhury, I need to get into a break.
37:33I have a suggestion.
37:34I have a suggestion.
37:39Yeah, Ms. Choudhury, make your point.
37:40Your suggestion very quickly.
37:44No, I was saying that I have a suggestion.
37:46I think women police should be in civil clothes and hang around all the vulnerable areas.
37:53There should be a backup plan behind them.
37:55That's a good point.
37:56A supporting group.
37:57And the minute a man misbehaves, pick him up and put his photograph in the papers.
38:03Name them and shame them.
38:05Name them and shame them.
38:06We protect the identity of the victim.
38:08Please expose.
38:10Yes.
38:10Yeah, Yogita, come in quickly.
38:12I have one leg signature on this particular campaign.
38:16I have one leg signature.
38:17On the same campaign on women in CVs?
38:20All right.
38:21Okay, that's a good one.
38:22You know, we're going to try.
38:23We're going to take this conversation further in India today, I promise.
38:26I thank all three of you.
38:28I thank all three of you for joining us.
38:30And young Anusha, thank you for being brave and saying I will come and I will speak on national television.
38:36Thank you there.
38:37Welcome back, Piers.
38:38You're watching To The Point.
38:39I want to focus now to the Jammui case.
38:42Two key accused in the Jammui horror have now been shot in the leg in a police encounter and arrested.
38:47This comes a day after the shocking video of a minor girl and a boy being surrounded, assaulted, sexually assaulted,
38:53and hounded by a group of men triggered outrage.
38:57Three other accused had already been arrested.
39:00But as cops' action gathers pace, a political controversy also grows, understandably, like it always does on the sidelines.
39:16A video that shocked the nation.
39:22A minor girl and boy surrounded by men, groped, molested, assaulted, and hounded in Biyadh.
39:33And now police action.
39:38The main accused, Nandan Yadav, and another accused, Hari Ram, were shot in the leg during a police encounter.
39:46Three accused were arrested earlier.
39:50But the question goes beyond arrests.
39:53Last year at India Today Conclave, Samrat Chaudi said that he would resign if crime happened on his watch.
40:25Today he is chief minister.
40:27But when the crime did occur, instead of just outrage, what came was the language of minimization.
40:40And it didn't end there.
40:42Bihar minister Shravan Kumar dismissed it as a sporadic incident and then made a U-turn after the outrage.
40:48Bihar minister Shravan Kumar, who has passed away.
40:57This is a shame for us, and we are the only one for us.
41:03This knowledge that has been proven, the government will be fully aware of it.
41:11Those who will be friends, will be the same for them.
41:16After we leave here, we will talk about SP and DM.
41:27Opposition parties have now seized on the statements, questioning the government's law and order record and demanding accountability.
41:51Today in Bihar, this video shows that there are no children of children in Bihar in Bihar.
42:21For a girl subjected to this horror, the message from politics should have been simple.
42:25No excuses, minimization or justification.
42:29But instead of standing with her, she got dismissive words from those in power.
42:34Leading to one haunting question, who will keep her daughter safe?
42:39We are a report, India Today.
42:45We are over to a Tamil Nadu story that has shocked.
42:49And we've been reporting on it, where a child abuse case in the state has now sparked questions over alleged
42:57abuse, a 70 crore money trail and a possible cover-up.
43:01And now the co-accused has broken her silence.
43:04Take a look.
43:04Since I was doing around 13 years old, I was not lecturing after forcing his bad intention.
43:13I was unknowingly becoming a victim of this vicious sexual advances.
43:24The Tamil Nadu equivalent of Epstein files involving granite businessman, Viramani, is widening.
43:34India Today has accessed a video of co-accused Shanti, who makes a stunning allegation that Viramani made sexual advances
43:42towards her when she was a minor.
43:45She claims he would visit her home when she was a child, make promises and made sexual advances.
43:53She added that now she fears for her life.
43:56I have been known to Mr. Viramani from my childhood as a close family friend.
44:01He used to visit my house in the pretext of helping us on business fronts.
44:06Since I was two young, around 13 years old, I was not matured enough to foresee his bad intention.
44:13I was unknowingly becoming a victim of this vicious sexual advances.
44:21He started acting like a godfather to me and used me for his personal benefits.
44:28The police alleged that Shanti managed a house used for sexual assaults and allegedly procured minors for Viramani.
44:37She was arrested along with Viramani on August 29.
44:41Other villains of Tamil Nadu's sex scandal have also been unmasked.
44:46Mahendra Simhan, reportedly a close aide of Viramani, has been arrested over allegations that he facilitated the crimes alongside the
44:54alleged kingpin.
44:56Another aide of Viramani, Ganeshan, has also been arrested by the police.
45:01Ganeshan was arrested for allegedly possessing a video on his mobile that showed Viramani sexually abusing a girl and for
45:09failing to report it to the police.
45:12And now, investigators are tracking an alleged 70 crore rupees financial trail.
45:19They are examining transactions and possible police links.
45:22The big question, was money used to influence the investigation or attempt a cover-up?
45:28Reacting to allegations of inaction during DMK regime, former law minister Raghupati tells India today that there was no evidence
45:37to proceed earlier and denies shielding Viramani.
45:41He says a case has been filed as far back as 2013.
46:09The case has now exploded into a political fight.
46:12TVK has questioned CPIM's stand and alleged that the case was nearly buried under the previous regime.
46:34The CPIM rejects any party involvement and calls the remarks surprising.
46:39It wants a thorough probe into everyone involved.
46:43It wants a thorough probe into everyone involved.
47:11The questions are now impossible to ignore.
47:15Who knew?
47:17Who knew?
47:18Who helped?
47:19Where did the money go?
47:22And was there any attempt to bury the case?
47:26With Pramod Madhav in Chennai, Bureau Report, India Today.
Comments