Saving her from eve-teasing cost him his life. When will women be safe in India?

Eve teasing has been a major issue in India. How many women in our country can say they haven't been troubled by an unknown man on the road? Men in groups pass lewd comments, touch or make obscene gestures - and it's something that happens across the country. A girl in Meerut was harassed. And even as Lance Nayak Ved Mitra Chaudhary tried to rescue her from her situation, he was beaten to death.

The army man, Ved Mitra, 35, had just gone to a nearby shop on Rohta Road in Hardevnagar to buy some milk. He saw a man trying to trouble the shopkeeper’s daughter. Without thinking twice, the jawan tried to save the girl and beat up the man.

"...my father, brother and the soldier intervened (during the harassment). The soldier got slapped and a fight broke out," said the girl to a TV channel as reported in the DNA.

The man called his friends who joined in to beat up the soldier with sticks and rods. The soldier was rushed to the army hospital soon but couldn’t be saved and succumbed to his deep injuries.

The jawan lived with his wife and and children in Gopal Vihar. “Mr Chaudhury fulfilled the duty of an Indian citizen and protected a girl's honour. He will be remembered as a martyr,” said Rajiv Kumar, Sub-Area Colonel.

The residents of the area protested against the incident and called for immediate police investigation into the case.

Such cases are a matter of shame. It's not for first time we have heard of such incidents. We need to seek change. We need to demand for safety of women. If the state of women and girls remains the same, economic progress alone will cannot be called wholesome. This incident happened just two days before the country's independence day, at a time the country's security is on high alert.

Picture Credit- Indian Express