Amid a spate of rape cases reported in Mumbai, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Amravati, the Home Department has convened a meeting of senior police officers on Monday to review the situation and discuss steps to be taken to curb such incidents in the state.
Home minister Dilip Walse-Patil told FPJ, “The Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray, will chair the meeting that will be attended by the Director Generals of Police (DGP), additional DGPs, special inspectors general, commissioners of police and superintendents of police. The meeting will take stock of the situation amid recent rape cases and discuss a slew of steps to be taken to curb such cases in the future.”
This comes, after a team of the National Commission for Women (NCW) reached Mumbai and met officials and the Saki Naka rape victim’s family. The NCW has said the police cannot shy away from their responsibility.
Monday’s meeting is important, especially after the Chief Minister ordered a fast-track trial in the Saki Naka rape case in which the victim succumbed to her grievous injuries after battling for life nearly 33 hours.
The ruling and Opposition parties have strongly condemned the incident and have demanded implementation of the Shakti Act at the earliest. According to the bill, it will change the existing laws referred to the joint select committee in December last year. The bill, which has been crafted on the lines of the Andhra Pradesh’s Disha Act, proposes a death penalty for rape, gangrape, acid attack and aggravated sexual assault of minors and fines up to Rs 10 lakh for those found guilty of sexual abuse. Also, it involves faster investigation and quicker disposal of cases.
