Bengaluru, Oct 17 (IANS) The Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R. Ashoka, has written a letter to the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Friday, citing the rising number of sexual assaults on girls in the state, and demanding urgent intervention.

He also urged the NCW to send a fact-finding committee urgently to the state.

Ashoka stated, “The law and order in Karnataka has collapsed. In just 4 months, 979 incidents of sexual assaults on girls were reported. In Bengaluru alone, more than 114 cases have come to light. Our women and children are living in fear due to the Congress-led government’s criminal inaction.”

“From the brutal rape and murder of a tribal girl in Mysuru to the tragic suicide of a librarian in Kalaburagi due to harassment – this is a moral and administrative failure. I have written an urgent letter to the National Commission for Women, demanding immediate intervention. We need a fact-finding team in Karnataka now,” Ashoka stated.

Ashoka stated, “BJP will not stay silent while our sisters and daughters are unsafe. The government must answer for this breakdown and act swiftly to ensure a guarantee of safety and security to our women and children.”

The letter states, “I write to you in the gravest of terms as the Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, deeply anguished and alarmed by the surge in heinous crimes against women and minors across the state. The recent spate of incidents reflects a collapse of law and order and an alarming erosion of the safety of women, children and marginalised communities.”

According to official data and media reports, 979 cases of sexual assaults and atrocities against minors have been reported in just the last four months across Karnataka. Bengaluru alone accounts for over 114 such cases, indicating that the crisis has reached alarming proportions and that deterrence has failed completely, Ashoka underlined.

“Among the many tragic incidents that have shaken public conscience are: the brutal rape and murder of a juvenile girl in Mysuru, belonging to the Hakki Pikki nomadic tribal community, who had migrated from Kalaburagi to sell balloons during the Dusshera festivities. This horrifying act expresses the vulnerability of migrant and tribal families and the complete absence of preventive policing even in high-security areas. The tragic suicide of a woman librarian in Kalaburagi, reportedly, following sustained workplace harassment and humiliation. This heartbreaking episode underlines the growing crisis of women’s safety and dignity even within educational and institutional spaces,” Ashoka noted.

These incidents, combined with the shocking statewide statistics, represent a deep moral and administrative failure. Women in Karnataka today are forced to live in fear – not of the law, but of its absence. The government’s silence and inaction in the face of such atrocities are unacceptable, Ashoka slammed.

“In this context, I urge the NCW to take immediate suo motu cognisance and initiate the action. Constitute a high-level fact-finding delegation to visit Karnataka — particularly Mysuru, Kalaburagi and Bengaluru — to assess the situation on the ground, interact with victims’ families, and evaluate institutional lapses,” he demanded. He has also asked NCW to seek a comprehensive report from the Government of Karnataka.

–IANS

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