‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibility of maintaining law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens rests with the respective State Governments. The State Governments are competent to deal with such offences under the extant provisions of laws. However, safety and security of women and children in the country is utmost priority for the Government. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has been administering various special laws relating to women such as the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005; Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986; the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, the Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act, 2015, the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
The Criminal Law (Amendment), Act 2013 was enacted for effective legal deterrence against sexual offences. Further, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 was enacted to prescribe even more stringent penal provisions including death penalty for rape of a girl below the age of 12 years. The Act also inter-alia mandates completion of investigation and trials within 2 months each.
The Government has also taken a number of initiatives for safety of women and girls, which are given below:
(i) The Government has set up Nirbhaya Fund for projects for safety and security of women, for which Ministry of Women and Child Development is the nodal authority for appraising/ recommending the proposals / schemes to be funded under Nirbhaya Fund.
(ii) In order to facilitate States/UTs, MHA has launched an online analytic tool for police on 19th February 2019 called “Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences” to monitor and track time-bound investigation in sexual assault cases in accordance with Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018.
(iii) MHA has launched the “National Database on Sexual Offenders” (NDSO) on 20th September 2018 to facilitate investigation and tracking of sexual offenders across the country by law enforcement agencies. NDSO has data of over 5 lakh sexual offenders.
(iv) Emergency Response Support System, which provides a single emergency number (112) based computer aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress has been operationalized in 20 States/ UTs in 2018-19.
(v) MHA has launched a cyber-crime portal on 20th September 2018 for citizens to report obscene content. Further, Cyber Crime Forensic Labs have been set up in several States, and training of over 3,664 personnel, including 410 Public Prosecutors and Judicial Officers in identifying, detecting and resolving cyber-crimes against women and children has been imparted.
(vi) Using technology to aid smart policing and safety management, Safe City Projects have been sanctioned in phase I in 8 cities (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai).
(vii) In order to improve investigation, MHA has taken steps to strengthen DNA analysis units in Central and State Forensic Science Laboratories. This includes setting up of a State-of-the-Art DNA Analysis Unit in Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh. MHA has also sanctioned setting-up and upgrading of DNA Analysis units in State Forensic Science Laboratories in 13 States/ UTs.
(viii) MHA has notified guidelines for collection of forensic evidence in sexual assault cases and the standard composition in a sexual assault evidence collection kit. To facilitate adequate capacity in manpower training and skill building programs for Investigation Officers, Prosecution Officers and Medical Officers has commenced. 3,221 Officers have already been trained by Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) and Lok Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science in collection, handling and transportation of forensic evidence (till 28th June 2019). BPR&D has distributed 3,120 Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits to States/ UTs as orientation kit as part of training.
(ix) In order to coordinate various initiatives for women safety, MHA has set up a Women Safety Division.
(x) Ministry of Women and Child Development has also introduced the scheme of One Stop Centres to provide integrated support and assistance to women affected by violence and a Scheme for Universalisation of Women Helpline to provide 24 hours emergency and non-emergency response to women affected by violence. Apart from above, the Ministry of Women and Child Development in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs has envisaged engagement of Mahila Police Volunteers in States/UTs who will act as a link between police and community and facilitate women in distress.
(xi) Further, Government of India conducts awareness generation programmes and publicity campaigns on various laws relating to women and their rights through workshops, cultural programmes, seminars, training programmes, advertisements in print and electronic media etc.
(xii) The Ministry of Women & Child Development is also implementing the Child Protection Services scheme in partnership with States/UTs. The scheme has a component of 24×7 Child help line (CHILDLINE 1098) which provides counseling care as well as intervention on the ground, if required. The Ministry also supports 97 Railway Childline presently on major railway platforms.
(xiii) MHA has issued advisories to all State Governments/UTs, advising them to ensure thorough investigation, conducting of medical examination of rape victims without delay and for increasing gender sensitivity in Police. These advisories are available at www.mha.gov.in.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri G. Kishan Reddy in a written reply to question in the Rajya Sabha today.
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