Maharashtra: State govt forms committee to curb crime against women

Mumbai: Amid incidents of atrocities on women, the Shinde Fadnavis government on Monday formed a 7-member Women Development Advisers Committee of Government/ Non-Government expert persons.

The committee, which will be headed by the Commissioner Women and Child Welfare will probe incidents of atrocities and cheating in the last one year reported in the media and make recommendations to curb them in future. The committee will submit its report to the state government in the next two months.

Committee duties

The women and child welfare department desk officer Ms Khadija Naikwade in a government resolution released today said that the committee will also suggest amendments to the schemes and programmes of the state and the central governments implemented by the department of women and child welfare in Maharashtra in order to make their implementation more effective. 

The members will not be entitled for honorarium as the committee has been established to make recommendations to the government.

The government’s move is important as Maharashtra has ranked third trailing behind Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan in the total number of cases of crimes against women in 2021 as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. A total of 428278 crimes were registered against women of which Uttar Pradesh was ranked on top with 56,083 cases followed by Rajasthan 40,738 and Maharashtra 39,526.

The government’s decision comes when it anxiously awaits the Presidential assent to the Shakti Act which has proposed capital punishment in rape cases. The Act requires the trial in these cases to be conducted on a day-to-day basis and completed within 30 working days from the date of filing of the chargesheet.