BHOPAL: State Congress on Thursday trained its guns on the BJP-ruled government claiming accused Ashwini Sharma’s NGO is aided by the department of social welfare.“The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government is observing today as the Adivasi Diwas and two tribal girls have registered an FIR because they were being molested and raped in a government-aided hostel. Another tribal committed suicide in Betul district because she was raped by hoodlums and the incident was recorded on video,” said state Congress media cell chief Shobha Oza.Congress argued when an NGO-run hostel is being funded by the state, it is the responsibility of the government to keep a strict watch and ensure protection of girls. “Before giving grant, it is the government’s job to ensure that children are safe. We are doubtful if this is the only such incident in the state. Let us first be specific. Rapes don’t just happen with girls. Even young boys are victims of rape,” Shobha Oza said.She claimed that according to NCRB reports, number of rapes in the state have increased by 532% in past 15 years of the BJP-ruled government. Congress media cell vice-president Bhupendra Gupta said, “All incidents of rape taking place are happening in BJP-ruled states. One minister was accused of rape in Bihar and a Union minister in Uttar Pradesh. In Madhya Pradesh, the number of registered cases of sexual offences against children stood at 3656 in 2004, which went up to 13,746 in 2016.”Gupta claimed conviction rate of rape cases is barely 27% in the state. “Sexual atrocities on girl child are on the rise. On July 6, a 14-year-old girl was gangraped in Khajuraho, a four-year-old was raped in Satna and 8-year-old in Mandsaur,” he said.Oza said government is oblivious of women’s safety despite being repeatedly pulled up by the Supreme Court for negligence.

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