lucknow

Updated: Aug 01, 2019 11:01 IST

At the time when the Unnao case has hogged the limelight, a question raised by a teenage girl during an awareness campaign baffled the authorities here on Wednesday.

It was the last day of government’s much-touted Community Action to end Violence Against Children (CAVACH) campaign and the question was put up by a Barabanki school girl. During the campaign, children were being made aware of the safety schemes and to rise against harassment.

“You said we should raise our voice and protest. We know a teen was raped by a BJP leader,” said Class 11 girl of Anand Bhawan School, Muniba Kidwai. The child rights authority and police officials apparently seemed discomfited.

She spoke after a police official finished his speech about the helpline numbers.

The inquisitive girl left everyone baffled with her question. “Everyone knows it was no accident. The truck number plate was painted black. It is one thing to protest when an ordinary person is involved, but what when the person is someone powerful? We know no action will be taken if we protest and even if action is taken, it will be of no use. The girl is in a critical state,” she added.

Officials, including additional superintendent of police S Gautam, had no specific answer to her query, said sources.

“If we protest, how will you ensure justice? How will you guarantee my safety? What’s the guarantee nothing will happen to me,” the girl said.

This was not the first time when students posed uneasy questions. Earlier in a Varanasi school when the child rights authorities were encouraging children to reach out to cops in case of harassment, one of the students said, “If the tormentor is a cop, whom should we report to.”

There was pin-drop silence in the hall for sometime, said an official, who was present there.