14 accused in incident with Dhanpur Khajuri woman caught by police

As many as 14 out of 19 accused have been nabbed till Wednesday following the proactive action taken by Dahod district police in the incident happened with a woman of Khajuri village of Dhanpur taluka. Along with this, long term measures of human behavior change have also been announced by the district administration to prevent such incidents from happening.

A joint statement issued by Collector Dr. Harshit Gosavi and District Police Chief Hitesh Joysar said that immediate action has been taken by the police in the heinous case of Khajuri village. The complaint was lodged on the 12th evening.

The victim was first counseled by the police and later on the basis of her complaint, the accused were caught by the police with the help of jawans from other police stations in the district. The victim is also currently being protected. Both the officers have also been sternly warned not to take any action against women in the name of misconception and superstition which would harm their self-esteem.

The police have also taken action against the accounts report the incident on social media platforms, which has hurt the self-esteem of women.

Following the incident, a team from the Office of Women and Child Protection visited the victim and counseled her and offered to include her in a women shelter home. In response, the victim expressed her desire to be with her family. She is currently being protected by the police in view of the matter. In addition, the Office of Women and Child Protection has taken action to include her in the government scheme.

Dr. Harshit Gosavi and Hitesh Joysar added that long-term planning has been done to prevent such incidents in the future. Based on the past experience of the police system, it is concluded that the villages in Dahod, Garbada and Dhanpur talukas on the inter-state border are particularly prone to misconceptions. An awareness campaign will be launched in the coming days to create awareness in the society against it.

It has been decided by the administration and the police to form a village security committee at the village level. The committee includes village sarpanch, talati minister, Asha and Anganwadi worker, teacher, social security department officials and a policeman. Under the auspices of this committee, in addition to the legal protection of women in the aforesaid villages, they will also conduct awareness programs for the eradication of superstition. Efforts for behavioral change will be made by this committee. Women can get help by dialing 181 Abhayam helpline and 100 number.