Under fire over police’s failure to nab all accused in Rewari gang rape case and lackadaisical approach in investigating cases of crime against women, Haryana Director General of Police BS Sandhu on Monday directed the police officers to adopt ‘free registration and quick action’ strategy to deal with criminals especially those involved in crime against women.
Sandhu held a video-conference with all Range ADGPs/IGs, Commissioners of Police, and district SPs to review law and order situation at Police headquarters.
DGP said that complaints pertaining to crime against women should be registered promptly without any delay in all police stations. Any lapse in this regard will be viewed seriously and officer/official concerned would be held responsible for any kind of negligence, he said.
“You should either perform better or face the music”, warned DGP.
The directions came after the allegations of delay in registration of Rewari gang rape case last week. The family members of the19-year-old victim had alleged that the registration of FIR was delayed as police kept citing jurisdiction issues making them shuttle between Rewari and Kanina.
A day before, Chief Minister Manohar Lal had summoned DGP to review progress of investigation in the Rewari gang rape case and also directed to ensure prompt action in cases of crime against women in the state.
The State Government had also ordered the transfer of Rewari’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajesh Duggal, who had been accused of failing to take prompt action. He was replaced by the SP of Chief Minister's security, Rahul Sharma.
During the meeting on Monday, Sandhu said that Chief Minister is concerned with regard to safety and security of women. The specific aim of police officers should be to take instant and firm action as soon as the complaint is received. Apart from this, every officer should also keep a close vigil to ensure that no untoward incident takes place in their respective areas, he said.
DG Headquarters, KK Mishra said that government has been taking serious initiatives to curb crime against women and children.
Thorough enquiry is being conducted into the Rewari case to find out any kind of negligence on the part of any police official. In case of any negligence, appropriate action would be taken against the erring officers, he said.
Mirra directed that district SPs should be more pro-active and sensitive and crime should be curbed in all circumstances.
He also emphasized on the need for a specific approach for faster investigation of crimes especially under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Such cases should be monitored on day to day basis by the concerned officers, he said.
He also stressed on expeditious trial and conviction of such heinous crimes.
The video-conference was also attended by ADGP crime PK Agrawal, ADGP CID Anil Kumar Rao and SP crime against woman, Manisha Choudhary.