JOIN USIn a bid to assuage people’s anger against the brutal gang-rape of a paramedic student in a moving bus in Delhi, the Union home ministry on Thursday came up with a proposal of preparing a dossier on rapists and making the information public to shame the culprits.
Though the government move might rake up human rights issues, Minister of State for Home R P N Singh told reporters that he has tasked the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to ready the data base and upload personal information and photographs of the rapists on its website.
The NCRB hitherto compiled only the statistics on rapes across states and union territories in a year.
"We are planning to start the data base in Delhi. Photographs, names and addresses of the rapists will be uploaded on Delhi Police website also," Singh said. The move is part of a slew of measures the UPA Government has taken in the wake of the public outcry to make the national capital safe for women.
Other states and UTs will be covered in due course. “We are very serious about tackling the problem and are taking all possible action at the earliest," the MoS said. However, effectiveness of the government move remains to be seen as on an average, a criminal case, including rape, takes a decade or two for getting the conviction to be upheld by the apex court.
The Delhi police, meanwhile, came in for criticism by MPs who had probing questions on the safety of women at a meeting of parliamentary standing committee on home. After the December 16 gang-rape, the parliamentary panel headed by BJP RS MP M Venkaiah Naidu had summoned union home secretary R K Singh as well as police commissioner Neeraj Kumar.
Sources said that Kumar, who was accompanied by another senior officer, made a presentation on the shameful incident and the steps taken, including arrest the first accused within 18 hours of the assault. Home secretary R K Singh did not attend the meeting.
Congress MP Sandip Dikshit, who along with his chief minister-mother Sheila Dikshit has been demanding Kumar’s resignation, was critical of the police functioning. He again targeted senior police officers contending that top brass enjoyed in their rooms, while lower staff sweated it out.
Other MPs targeted lack of infrastructure such as PCR vans and policemen, which they said was crippling the police. The police commissioner said that more women constables were being recruited, which was endorsed by some members.
The committee would meet again on January 4. The police have been directed to furnish written replies to questions raised by the MPs.