A man from Meerut has written to PM Modi and Yogi Adityanath over the harassment his daughters face

A man in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut has written to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi begging for protection for his four daughters from harassment by young men in the neighbourhood.

"Even living at home has become difficult," writes the father, saying he constantly fears for his daughters' lives.

The man lives in Mawana town, about 25 km from the Meerut district headquarters. He wrote the letter on Sunday, a day after the men barged into his home and attacked the girls, even sexually abusing the 12-year-old. The group allegedly threatened the girls with an acid attack.

The man says in the letter that his daughters, aged 17, 16, 14 and 12, have even stopped going to the local madrasa because of the unending harassment.

The men, he alleges, have kept up with the stalking and bullying for many months now and have not stopped despite warnings and complaints to their families.

In desperation, the man not only went to the police but also decided to appeal directly to Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Modi.

"We have received a complaint from a man who alleged that his four daughters are being harassed by a few men in the neighborhood. It is difficult for them to even get out of the house. Investigation is underway," said Rajesh Kumar, a senior police officer in Meerut.

The father's SOS emerged on a day a poll of global experts said India was the world's most dangerous country for women due to the high risk of sexual violence and being forced into slave labour. War-torn Afghanistan and Syria ranked second and third in the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of about 550 experts on women's issues, followed by Somalia and Saudi Arabia.

Within India, Uttar Pradesh reported 14.5 per cent (49,262 out of 3,38,954 cases) of the nationwide cases of crimes against women, followed by West Bengal 9.6% (32,513 cases) in 2016 - according to the latest crime data made available by the government.

Soon after he came to power in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath formed "anti-Romeo squads" of the UP police to check harassment against women in public spaces. The police has claimed great success, though its methods have been the subject of much scrutiny and debate.



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