Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday warned of stringent action against those indulging in atrocities on women for rejecting love proposals.
He said the police would keep a tab on such people, who have the history of harassing and stalking women, and continue monitoring them to ensure that they were not planning anything extreme against them for rejecting the proposal.
The Chief Minister's statement in the state Assembly assumes significance in the wake of a series of brutal murders of young women by spurned lovers or whose love proposals were rejected by them, reported in the state in recent times.
The latest among them was the death of a 24-year-old dental college student, who was shot dead by a man who was her social media friend once, in Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district.
He had shot the woman dead using a pistol before killing himself after barging into the house, where she was staying, in broad daylight on July 30.
Bringing the incident to the notice of the House, Thrikkakara legislator P T Thomas (Congress) wanted the intelligence wing of the state police to be more vigilant to ensure the safety of girls and women in the society.
Mr Vijayan assured the House that the police would not take any soft stand towards those who harass women in the name of love.
"Police are already taking stringent measures to ensure severe punishment to those who harass women for refusing love proposals," he said.
The CM also wanted the investigators to take into account the psychological aspect of those attempting to trap women via cyber platforms.
Congress legislator and former Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan wanted the government to form an efficient investigation team of lady officers to probe the complaints of harassment and atrocities against women.
He also pointed at the instances of brutal violence against women reported in the northern states and how the CRPC and IPC provisions had been changed in the country to ensure maximum punishment to the guilty.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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