By News Karnataka
A coalition of prominent women’s rights activists in Mangaluru has formally presented a memorandum to the Dakshina Kannada District Superintendent of Police, urging swift justice for a female student allegedly exploited under the pretext of marriage.
According to the complaint, Krishna J. Rao, the son of a BJP leader from Puttur, purportedly enticed the young woman by assuring her of matrimony. After she became pregnant, he retracted his commitment and disappeared. Activists claim that several individuals facilitated his escape and that influential figures pressured the woman’s family to terminate the pregnancy in exchange for financial compensation.
The petition implores authorities to conduct a thorough inquiry and initiate appropriate legal proceedings against all involved.
The delegation included Janavadi Mahila Sanghatan District President and ex-corporator Jayanthi B. Shetty, Samadhi Mangaluru President Manjula Nayak, Janavadi Mahila Sanghatan City President Asuntha D’Souza, Secretary Madhuri Bolara, and other women leaders such as Bharathi Bolara, Pramila Devadiga, and Ishwari Padmunja representing the Dalit Rights Committee. Also present were Beedi Workers Association District Vice President Vasanthi Kuppepadavu, former Moodbidri Municipality Vice President and labour activist Ramani Moodbidri, along with Lydia, Jacintha, Archana Acharya, and Meena Tellis from various women’s collectives.
They emphasized that no victim should be coerced into silence and insisted that justice be neither delayed nor diluted.