Centre dealing with crime against women, kids mooted

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 28

To check crime against women and children, the state will formulate an action plan that will be prepared by the police and the Social Justice and Empowerment Department.

This was decided during an interactive session of the departments concerned dealing with child and women affairs today. The event was organised at the Police Headquarters here.

According to data, the number of rape cases have increased from 244 in 2015 to 358 in 2019.

Cases under outraging modesty of women stood at 433 in 2015. However, it increased to 498 in 2019. Similarly, there were 226 cases registered under the POCSO Act in 2015. However, year 2019 recorded 229 cases under the Act.

DGP Sanjay Kundu proposed to establish a centre for crime against women, children and drug abuse so that training and capacity building programmes could be institutionalised. The centre could be opened under the Nirbhaya Fund Utilisation Scheme.

He emphasised to make a provision of Nirbhaya vehicles to all police stations so that complaints of crime against women are attended well in time.

Additional Chief Secretary (SJ&E) Nisha Singh said the Mahila Police Volunteer (MPV) Scheme of the Centre would soon be implemented in Mandi and Una districts on a pilot basis.

Daisy Thakur, Chairperson, State Women Commission, stressed on synergy of various stakeholder departments to fight collectively against crime against women and children.

The SPs of Chamba, Mandi, Kangra and Shimla stressed the need for more women police officials.

Criminals fled to Nepal

Another issue raised at the interactive session was that as there was no extradition treaty with Nepal, a sizable number of proclaimed offenders involved in women and children-related crimes had fled to Nepal