Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy on Wednesday, 4 December, said there has been no trend of increasing crimes against women in India, in a written reply to a question regarding the NCRB report in Rajya Sabha, according to a Press Information Bureau report.
Reddy said that a comparison of report on crime rates against women in 2016 and 2017 of various crime heads show no increasing trend in the country.
Further, the minister enumerated the steps taken by the government for the safety of women across the country.
Reddy’s remark comes at a time when the country is up in arms over the alleged rape and murder of a woman veterinarian in Hyderabad recently.
Steps Taken by Govt for Safety of Women
Reddy said the Criminal Law (Amendment), Act 2013 was enacted for effective deterrence against sexual offences.
Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 was enacted to prescribe even more stringent penal provisions including death penalty for rape of a girl below the age of 12 years, Reddy said, according to PIB.
Emergency Response Support System which provides a pan-India, internationally-recognised number (112), caters to all emergencies with computer-aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress, the statement read.
Safe City Projects have been sanctioned in the first phase in eight cities across the country, using technology to aid smart policing and safety management, Reddy said.
A cyber-crime portal to report obscene content, National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO) to aid probe, online analytic tool for police called ‘Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences’ and One Stop Centre (OSC) scheme to provide integrated services are the other steps the government has taken, Reddy said.
On Monday, Reddy had informed Lok Sabha that the government is ready to amend the Indian Penal Code and CrPC to ensure swift justice in cases of heinous crimes like the Hyderabad rape and murder case, according to PTI.
Condemning the crime, Reddy had said the government is very serious on the issue and is ready for suitable amendments.
7% Decline in Serious Crimes in Delhi
Meanwhile, Reddy also told Parliament that the number of serious crimes in the national capital reduced by 7 percent in 2019 as compared to 2018. He said the Delhi Police registered 4,628 cases of serious crimes till 15 November as compared to 5,014 during the corresponding period in 2018.
“Thus, there is a decline of 7.7 percent in heinous crimes during the current year as compared to last year,” he said.
The minister also added that Delhi Police has taken a number of measures to both prevent and expeditiously detect crimes in the national capital.
He said the force's major initiatives include action against organised crime, arrest and surveillance of notorious criminals, joint group patrolling in vulnerable areas, and deployment of police control room (PCR) vans and emergency response vehicles to enhance police visibility.
Replying to another question, the minister said women police personnel constitute 12.31 percent of the total strength of the Delhi Police.
“The present strength of police personnel in Delhi is 80,709, out of which the present strength of women police personnel is 9,938, which is 12.31 per cent of the total present strength,” he said.
Reddy added that to augment representation of women in the police forces of all the Union Territories (UTs), including Delhi, the Centre had in 2015 approved 33 percent reservation for women in direct recruitment in non-gazetted posts from constable to sub-inspector.
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