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Kirron Kher on defensive over advice to gang rape victim (Lead)

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Chandigarh, Nov 30 (IANS) Bollywood actress and Chandigarh’s BJP MP Kirron Kher was on the defensive on Thursday after she stirred a controversy by giving unsolicited advice to a young woman who was gang raped earlier this month here by an auto-rickshaw driver and his two accomplices.

Kher had on Wednesday said the victim should have been more cautious and not boarded the auto-rickshaw in which three men were already sitting.

Facing criticism from several quarters, the Lok Sabha member on Thursday sought to clarify her statement, saying it was “only in the context of certain precautions” that women should take and that it was “not intended to blame the victim or shaming her”.

“I strongly believe that women safety is an enduring and continuous process in our country. Yesterday, my statement… was taken out of context, selectively reported, and gravely politicised — all of which distracted from the real message I wanted to send out to the girls, as a woman, as a mother, and as their representative in the Parliament,” Kher tweeted on Thursday.

“I just said that the world is a bad place. We all, especially ladies, have to take precautions. As a mother, I am saying this that we need to take care,” she said.

She said that if the victim had called up the police control room, police would have taken her and dropped her safely to her home.

Kher said that she wanted to put “untampered, the things I really wished to convey”.

“Chandigarh has a facility for all women who are out late in the night, and cannot find a transport. If a woman finds herself in this position, she can dial 100 and a PCR van is sent to pick her up. As a woman MP, I am proud that my constituency offers this reliability to our girls.

“I did not say it was the victim’s fault… I said it is terribly sad what happened to her, and I wish she had availed the PCR facility instead.

“I do not want to delegitimise the gravity of this crime, I want to mention constructive ways a tragedy like this can be avoided in the future,” she tweeted, adding certain do’s and dont’s for girls and women to keep themselves safe.

“Any woman, when she gets into a public transport – a cab, or a rickshaw – can just click a photo of the vehicle details and send it to their loved ones. Make sure the driver knows that your loved ones know the vehicle details. We cannot get into people’s minds or change their intentions overnight; but this is what I used to do back in Mumbai too…,” Kher said.

“If the Congress wants to make an issue out of it, I cannot help,” she said.

The victim was allegedly gang raped by three men on November 17 evening after she hired the shared auto-rickshaw to go back to her paying guest accommodation in Mohali town, adjoining Chandigarh.

Police got the CCTV footage of the auto-rickshaw and its driver from a gas station in Sector 42 where the vehicle had stopped to get CNG filled and arrested the three men after over a week after the incident.

The victim, who hails from Dehradun, had boarded the shared auto-rickshaw after attending her stenography class in Sector 37 here.

The victim told the police that the driver took the vehicle to the gas station for refuelling and then turned towards Sector 52. He stopped the auto near a wild growth along the road and said that it had broken down.

When the woman got out of the vehicle to take another one, the three men pulled her into nearby bushes and took turns to rape her.

The accused arrested included auto-rickshaw driver Mohammed Irfan, Garib and Poppu. Irfan had tried to commit suicide in police custody this week by stabbing himself with a glass that he broke in the prison cell.

–IANS
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Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok

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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.

The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.

Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.

Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.

For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.

During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.

Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.

Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .

Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.

In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.

In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.

He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.

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