WOMEN – 2011 - Indian Social Institute

Teacher strangled to death over dowry
A twenty-five-year-old Government schoolteacher was allegedly strangulated to death by her husband
and mother-in-law over dowry in Paschim Vihar. The husband then hanged the woman with a ceiling fan
to mislead the police and show a case of suicide. The deceased, Rekha was a temporary schoolteacher
at a Government school in Padav Nagar and was a resident of Shubham Colony of Paschim Vihar. She
had been married for three years to 35-year-old Sanjeev, also a schoolteacher of an MCD school of
Khyala and had a small child. On Monday evening, Rekha was beaten up and later strangled to death by
her husband in connivance with his mother. The duo then to escape arrest hanged her from the ceiling
fan and went out of the apartment. “Sanjeev went out to the market while the mother, 55-year-old Omlata,
returned to her house in Nangloi. Sometime later, their neighbour came to their apartment and saw the
body hanging from the fan. He called up Sanjeev and rushed Rekha to Balaji hospital where she was
declared dead,” told a police official. For several weeks, the family had been demanding dowry from
Rekha and beating her up frequently. “They had been demanding `2 lakh and used to beat up her every
other day over the issue. She was extremely unhappy with them,” claimed Satyprakash, father of the girl,
in his statement. As per Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) V Ranganathan, “The police were
informed to investigate the case. On interrogation, we found Sanjeev suspicious therefore he along with
his mother was taken into custody.” A case was registered at the Paschim Vihar police station. “The body
of the deceased has been sent for post-mortem at DDU Hospital and further investigation is in progress. It
would be only after the enquiry that more could be said about the murder case,” said the DCP. (Pioneer,
11/05/2011)
Sonia stress on empowering girls
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday stressed the need to empower members of the fairer
sex, saying that a country could not develop without all-round development of the women. ''A woman
spends half of her life in distress despite her big contribution to the family and society,'' she said.
Addressing a function of the Rajiv Gandhi Kishori Sashatikaran organised by the Union Ministry for
Women and Child Welfare at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium of the ITI in Rae Bareli, Sonia Gandhi said a
woman should be given an opportunity to develop herself. ''Women comprise half of the population of the
country but still they lack adequate attention,'' she said. Talking about girl empowerment, the Congress
president said the country was banking on the talents of girls, who were directly related to the
development of the nation. Sonia, who is also chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, said it was
the dream of her husband, late Rajiv Gandhi, to empower adolescent girls in the age group of 11-14
years who dropped out of school as well as adolescent girls in the age group of 14-18 years, and to fulfil
this dream they had launched Sabla, the Rajiv Gandhi scheme for empowerment of adolescent girls, in
the country's 200 selected districts, including Rae Bareli, on November 19 last year. Sonia, who is also
chairperson of the National Advisory Council, gave away cheques to six women who had contributed
through Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the region. The Congress president later reviewed the progress of
the Rail Coach0 Factory at Lalganj and held a meeting with the officials inside the first AC coach
assembled there. She expressed satisfaction at the progress of the construction works at the RCF and
hoped that the first rake of 11 AC-3 Tier coaches would roll out in October. The meeting was disrupted for
some time as a mild dust storm lashed the area. The Congress leader also asked the officials to gear up
to make RCF one of the best factories of the country. Sitting inside the first AC 3 Tier coach manufatured
by RCF, Sonia Gandhi enquired about the latest green technology used for these new passenger-friendly
coaches. Sonia was expected to meet the family members of six labourers who died after inhaling
poisonous gas emanating from a well in Shivgarh area on Wednesday morning. The labourers had
entered the well to clean it in Baburi village. The victims included Anil Viz (20), Ramakant (22), Durgesh
(24), Shankarlal (50), Rinku (20) and Harkesh (25). The Congress leader would return to New Delhi on
Thursday afternoon after attending the district vigilance committee meeting. (Pioneer, 12/05/2011)
Man kills wife for bearing girl child
KURNOOL: A pregnant woman was allegedly beaten to death by her husband in Shankarmatham
mandal in Kurnool district after he found out that she was bearing a girl child. Breaking all rules, a private
scanning centre in the town had conducted the sex determination test to confirm that it was a female
foetus. The accused, Prakash Chari, mercilessly beat up his wife Surekha, who was six months pregnant,
and strangled her in their home in Pedda Market Street late on Tuesday night. Neighbours rushed a
severely injured Surekha to hospital where she succumbed in the early hours of Wednesday. Sources