Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Protesters call Bharat bandh today

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By Our Reporter & Agencies

SHILLONG/NEW DELHI: The infamous gang-rape in Delhi and the 23-year-old victim’s tragic death enraged the people of this country to such an extent that the protesters now called for Bharat bandh on Thursday.

Trying to make their agitation apolitical, protesters declared that they would not allow any political party leaders and workers to participate in the bandh.

However, the leaders and party workers can join the protests during the bandh if they come without flags or placards of their party, said the anti-gang-rape protesters in Delhi.

Amid nationwide outrage over the Delhi gang-rape, the Supreme Court on Wednesday sought responses from the Centre and states within a month on providing adequate security to women.

It also decided to take up another plea for setting up designated fast-track courts for speedy trial of all rape cases. The apex court issued notices to the Centre and all the state governments seeking their response within four weeks over safety measures being taken for women.

Meanwhile, in Meghalaya, the CSWO (Agnes) has extended support to the Bharat bandh while demanding life sentence to rapists/molesters, besides imposing punishment to officers, including the police, who deny help to rape victims.

In this regard, the CSWO submitted its recommendations to the Justice JS Verma committe, which was set up by the Centre last month to recommend stringent laws on crime against women.

In a letter to the Justice Verma Committee, the CSWO President Agnes Kharshiing said in most instances, especially in rural Meghalaya, the police at best make half-hearted attempt to help rape victims.

“The police, especially in the rural areas, do not give a copy of the FIR to the victim. Many a time police do not assist the illiterate victim or their relatives,” Kharshiing said in the letter while recommending a personal fine of Rs 50,000 to be paid to the victim by the officer in-charge or the second in-charge of the concerned police station if any of his staff fails to give a signed copy of the FIR to a rape victim or her family or fails to render help in writing the FIR when they come to the police station to lodge their complaint.

The CSWO also suggested that when a case is reported the clothes should be seized within 24 hours by the IO in the presence of a Medical Officer, and the same should be sent to the FSL (irrespective of a holiday), so as to leave no room for tampering by certain police personnel.

She further recommended that chargesheet of the case should be filed within 2 months with or without the FSL report. “States not having proper facilities for FSL examinations should be held equally responsible for the rise of the crime of rape and be made to pay fines to the tune of Rs 10 lakh to the victim for delay in FSL reports”, Kharshiing added. ‘

The CSWO put forth the need for a standard format having 3 copies is to be provided to all police stations where all the required points for examination of a rape case, and the seizure of clothes and the timing of the seizure to be mentioned clearly in the form and signed by the doctor with the date and the full name and post held when signing. Demanding life sentence to rapists/molesters, the letter said, “All rape cases should be transferred to the Fast Track Courts and if not found guilty the case may immediately be transferred to the higher courts for their verdict before it is decided that it was not a rape, and the costs for the victim be borne by the Government”.

An Assembly committee reported that crime against women pending investigation until December 31 last year was at 696 which include 337 rape cases, 135 kidnap and abduction cases of women and girls, 127 molestation and 18 sexual harassment cases. The report said that there were 134 rape cases in last year alone of which only 81 were solved. The government has set up the Justice J S Verma Committee to review rape laws.

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