Minor girl jumps to death due to sexual harassment by TDP leader

Vijayawada, Jan 30 (IANS) Suicide of a minor girl in Vijayawada due to sexual harassment by a leader of opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has sent shock waves in the city while the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has demanded harshest punishment to the culprit.

The 14-year-old girl jumped to death from fifth floor of her apartment building in Bhavanipuram area on Saturday. In a suicide note, which police later recovered from her bedroom, the student of class 9 wrote that she was ending her life due to sexual harassment by Vinod Jain, who resides in the same building.

Police have arrested the accused, who contested the recent municipal elections as a corporator on TDP ticket. He has been booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The girl's grandfather said she looked depressed since morning but did not say anything when he enquired. He said when he and his daughter were going for an evening walk she came to them and hugged her mother to say 'I love you'.

When the father and daughter duo returned home from walk they were shocked to learn that she ended her life from jumping down. He said the police recovered suicide note from her bed room in which she wrote how Vinod Jain was sexually harassing her.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh State Women's Commission chairperson Vasireddy Padma said that the government has taken the incident seriously and that all efforts will be made to ensure that the culprit gets stringent punishment.

Endowments minister Vellampalli Srinivas termed the incident as shocking and said the government will ensure justice to the victim's family. "The kind of harassment the girl was subjected too is really shocking. We can't even speak what the girl has written in the suicide note," he said.

The minister alleged that TDP president and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was encouraging such people leading to crimes against women and children

YSRCP legislator and actor R.K. Roja said that a 60-year-old man sexually harassing a 14-year-old girl and driving her to suicide is a heinous crime. She called up on women to stage protests across the state to seek stringent action against such criminals.

She alleged that during TDP rule many women and children became victims of rapes and sexual harassment.

Meanwhile, the TDP on Sunday suspended Vinod Jain from the party.