Protesters brave lathicharge, water cannons

Delhi University and JNU students braved lathicharge and water cannons as they protested outside chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s house on Wednesday, demanding justice for the 23-year-old girl who was gang raped in a moving bus on Sunday night.

“Many AISA activists, including Sunita, Shweta Raj, Anubhuti, Diksha, Divya shikha, Akbar Chowdhary, Anant Narayan, Ashutosh, Agnitra and others are injured. We condemn this action and demand immediate punishment to the rapists,” said Sucheta De, a member of All India Students’ Association from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Police said water cannons were used to disperse the crowd after the protesters tried to enter Dikshit’s house.

“A gang rape takes place, and there is hardly any action from the CM’s side. Yet a protest is being seen as a threat by her,” said another protester.

At India Gate

Elsewhere in the city, members of JNU students’ union and AISA from state and central universities gathered at India Gate to announce a 10-point memorandum of demands.

The JNUSU’s memorandum said Delhi alone accounts for 13.3 per cent of the total incidents of crime against women, and 43.1 per cent of the total incidents of crime against children among 53 mega-cities of India.

“Drastically improve the rate of registration of FIRs in Delhi. As per the National Crime Records Bureau Report of 2011, of the total 1,46,18,802 complaints of criminal cases received by Delhi Police, only 59,249 (less than 0.5 per cent) were registered as FIRs,” the memorandum stated.

“This shows the general apathy of Delhi Police towards all types of crime in the city,” it added.

As per the Delhi Police Annual Report of 2010, only 11.88 per cent of all complaints received by the crime against women (CAW) cells were converted into FIRs.

“Improve the rate and quality of investigation into cases. Also improve the rate and speed of chargesheeting, trial and conviction. The conviction rate in crime against women has fallen in the country from a meagre 27.8 per cent in 2010 to 26.9 per cent in 2011,” the memorandum stated.

“As per studies conducted in Delhi, those convicted of rape lodged in Tihar Jail have committed on an average four rapes before conviction. This betrays the failure of the entire criminal-justice system.”

Gender sensitivity course

The protesters sought compulsory courses on gender sensitivity in the training module of the police department, instead of a few workshops for a handful of police officers.
“Ensure more women in police. Currently, there are less than 6.5 per cent women in Delhi Police,” said JNUSU president V Lenin Kumar.

More demands

Apart from demands like fast track and specialised courts, counselling for victims should be done by the state.

“Set up anti-sexual harassment committees in all schools, colleges and workplaces as per the Supreme Court guideline.

Ensure passage of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill after suitable amendments are made to remove loopholes in it,” the memorandum stated.

The protesters later headed towards Raisana Hill, where Rashtrapati Bhavan as well as the Union home ministy offies are located.

There was heavy police presence there.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad also held a candle light vigil at India Gate on Wednesday.