JOIN US Condemning the “non-cooperative” attitude of Delhi Police, the Delhi Commission for Women summoned Police Commissioner B S Bassi to appear before it on February 8 for not sharing “crucial data” on crimes against women.
DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal Jaihind on Tuesday said since crimes against women are on the rise in the national capital and the conviction rate is slow, the data would have been useful for the organisation to understand the “systemic issues” regarding women safety.
However, the notice states that the police chief could be exempted from personal appearance if the police department produced the documents on or before the due date.
After the Anand Parbat case, the commission had on August 1, 2015 asked the police chief to provide data on number of complaints of crimes against women, number in which an FIR has been registered, chargesheets filed and number of accused convicted.
It had also asked a list of police stations and spots where the highest number of complaints were reported.
While the data on FIRs registered and accused convicted was given in October, the additional information sought was not provided. Following which it had sent notices again this year.
“We had also asked them the reason behind so many chargesheets not filed and cases pending till date. But despite two notices, three letters and assurances in several meetings, they have failed to provide the data. It is the commission’s mandate to give recommendations to Central and the state government, but the exercise has got delayed due to Delhi Police,” Maliwal told Deccan Herald.
When asked about the action to be taken against Bassi if he fails to appear on February 8, she said DCW will exercise its powers of issuing arrest warrants or attaching the property of the police chief.
“There is a procedure we will follow. We have the powers of the civil court so according to it if anybody doesn’t appear we can issue arrest warrants. But we don’t want a confrontation with any agency. I am sure the police chief will cooperate and give the required data,” she said.
“A lot of interventions need to be done on various issues by the commission. So many women are suffering as their chargesheets have not been filed. Till we understand the magnitude of the problem, how will the commission be able to give solutions? Our programmes and recommendations are getting delayed due to the non-cooperative attitude of the Delhi Police,” she said.
She also urged LG Najeeb Jung to form a “high-level” panel on women safety to fix the accountability of Delhi Police.