'Set up creches for poor to stop rapes'

Bassi sends his suggestion to city govt

Delhi Police Commissioner Bhim Sain Bassi has suggested setting up creches on a war footing to deal with the incidents of minor children’s rape in the capital.

Bassi believes most such rapes occur due to working couples being forced to leave their children alone at home.

Bassi made the suggestion in a letter to Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday. A copy of the letter has also been sent to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

It comes after the rapes of a five-year-old girl in Anand Vihar and a two-and-a-half-year-old girl in Nihal Vihar.

Bassi says a solution to such incidents can only be achieved with equal participation of police along with the state government, NGOs and civil society.

He highlighted how the Anand Vihar victim’s parents had to leave her and her three-year-old brother alone at home to earn their livelihood. Her mother works a domestic help in the nearby localities, while her father is employed with a garments shop in the area.

“It’s a common practice among most parents employed in the unorganised sector. Efforts are made to help the poor, but it never includes construction of enough creches. Creches must be constructed on a war footing so that such parents don’t have to leave their kids alone,” Bassi stated in the letter wrote in Hindi.

Bassi has further suggested to make moral education compulsory for boys in schools and colleges.

“Schools and colleges must look for deviant behaviour among boys and provide a system to ensure that they are corrected through counselling by psychologists,” said Bassi, adding that the Aam Aadmi Party government must reach out to school dropouts and provide for their rehabilitation.

The police commissioner also highlighted that his force personnel have been sensitised and are monitored to ensure truthful registration of complaints which disclose commission of cognisable offences.

“The victims of cognisable crime now rarely have to run from pillar to post to get their FIRs registered,” Bassi said.