Need to change mindset to stop violence against women: PM

New Delhi, Sep 23 (IANS) Expressing concern over the state of security of women in the country, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday said there is a need to change the mindset to stop crime against women.

"It is a shameful matter that women are not treated properly. I am hopeful this meet will come up with good suggestions to deal with violence against women," the prime minister said in his inagural address at the National Integration Council (NIC) meet here.

"A country can only progress if women can move around freely, make independent choices. We must change mindsets to stop crimes against women," he said.

Voicing similar concerns, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said no society can progress without respecting women.

"No country can progress unless they treat their women with respect. Unfortunately we continue to read about heinous crime committed on women," Shinde said.

He said though government has taken steps by amending law, further steps need to be taken by the society.

"Further action needs to be taken by society so that we can deal with the root cause... we also need to change the attitude of the society," he said.

US student molested in Lucknow, three held

Lucknow, Sep 23 (IANS) Three youth have been arrested for molesting an American student who had to jump off a moving auto rickshaw to save herself, police said.

The student had boarded a tempo in Tuliaganj late Saturday. After all the passengers de-boarded the vehicle at different places, the tempo driver, along with his two friends molested the girl.

The US national, who lodged a complaint with the police Sunday said, the trio molested her for over 20 minutes and as she tried to raise an alarm they raised the volume of the music in the vehicle.

She also noted the number of the tempo and conveyed it to the police.

The police was reluctant to lodge a case and instead told the victim that they will "help her". She, however, said she would not settle for anything less that a formal complaint to be registered.

Following this, the police lodged a complaint and arrested tempo driver Veeru and his friends Rajan and Ayush.

The girl is a US citizen and studies at an institute on Gokhaley Marg and lives in a rented flat at Indiranagar. The victim also told the police that she had to jump off the moving vehicle when it slowed down near Qaiserbagh in order to save herself from the trio.

Shiva Shukla, women police station in-charge, said the trio would be paraded before the victim Monday for identification.

In the first past, Our PM asks us to change our midnset.

Yet, in the second half, we see The police was reluctant to lodge a case and instead told the victim that they will "help her".

What is the administration doing regarding this police officer.

Since it was a US woman, she would not settle for anything less than a formal complaint - FIR.

If it had been and uneducated woman, she would have been sent away without lodging an FIR or worse, probably the police may have put per in lock-up and raped her thereafter.

Mr. Prime Minister, like Rajiv Gandhi you are also saying "Hame Karna hai".

You are the top most authority.

The buck stops at you.

Why aren't you doing what you are supposed to do?