The Chhattisgarh government has issued directives for strict implementation of ‘no government jobs’ rule for convicts and accused in cases of crime against women, especially sexual harassment and rape.
The state general administration department has written to all heads of government departments, chairperson of state revenue board, divisional commissioners and district collectors to implement the provisions of Chhattisgarh Civil Services Rules, 1961, in this regard.
The directives come two days after the opposition BJP submitted a memorandum to Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan on Saturday, seeking action against the “incompetent” Congress government for failing to curb crime against women and minor girls.
A delegation of BJP leaders led by the party's state chief Arun Sao had met the governor and submitted a memorandum, alleging that the Congress government had looted the natural resources of the state, indulged in corruption, and had not shown any concern about the deteriorating law and order situation.
The opposition party also alleged that Congress leaders themselves were involved in heinous crimes. They had cited examples of alleged rape of a teacher in Jashpur district on Teacher’s Day (September 5) and the rape of a five-year-old girl in a government-run residential school in Sukma district in July. Recent gang-rape of a young girl near the capital Raipur was also taken up.
The BJP claimed that more than 6,000 cases of rape were reported in the state during the Congress rule.
Ex-chief minister Raman Singh had told media persons that his party had requested the governor to seek a reply from the state government on the issue of rising number of crimes against women and the issues of corruption.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, however, claimed the crime rate had declined in the state compared to the tenure of previous BJP government and was far lower than that in many BJP ruled states. He suggested that the BJP leaders should instead meet the governor of violence-hit Manipur, Anusuiya Uikey, who was formerly governor of Chhattisgarh as the north-eastern state was burning for the past four months.
However, on Monday, the state GAD came out with a communiqué, mentioning the sub-rule 4 of the rule 6 of the Chhattisgarh Civil Services Rule which prohibits recruitment of convicts in cases of crime against women for government jobs. As for the accused whose cases were in trial in court, the recruitment process was to be kept pending till the final outcome of the case.
In this context, the GAD department asked all concerned to strictly ensure barring of such aspirants who face charges of moral turpitude such as sexual harassment, rape and others under sections 354, 376 (a), (b) and (c), 509, 493, 496, 498 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, from government job recruitments, till their the trial of their cases was complete.