In a bid to ensure speedy justice to the rape victims, SPs in the districts have been asked to personally monitor the rape cases. Also, the Jharkhand Police will make special request to the Judiciary to take such sensitive cases into the fast-track courts. Women activists, however, are of the view that that the police have become insensitive towards the women and responsibilities must be fixed on the police officials in order to ensure speedy justice to the rape victims.
“The Jharkhand Police will be holding a review meeting on January 21 where crime against women will be one of the prime issues to be taken where orders regarding direction to the SPs to personally monitor the cases is likely to come out and they may also be directed to file chargesheets in the minimum possible time after the arresting of the culprits,” said ADG (CID) SN Pradhan.
To ensure speedy justice to the victims, Director General of Police Rajiv Kumar will also make special request to the Judiciary to take such sensitive cases into fast track courts, added Pradhan.
When asked about having any plan to pass directions to the police officials to file charge sheet within 20 days on the lines of Delhi Police, Pradhan said that it might not be very realistic which sometimes takes longer to file the charge sheet due to technical hiccups.
As per the new order passed by the Delhi Police, the Investigating Officers needs to file a charge sheet in any rape case within 20 days once the accused is arrested. Failure to do so will lead to a notice to the Joint Commissioner of Police heading the particular range.
“As a time frame has already been fixed in the law itself to file the charge sheet it might not be realistic, sometimes it takes even less than 20 days time to file charge sheet in such cases after the arresting of the culprits,” Pradhan said. It is already being done in some of the sensitive cases like rape in the state, he added.
Moreover, CID has also isolated some of the cases which could be chosen out for investigation on the priority basis to ensure speedy justice to the rape victims, Pradhan said.
Women activist on the other hand are of the view that the Police must be more sensitive towards the rape victims and also alleges that that they do not get the required legal support and advice hence, judiciary and judicial system always remain a mystery for them.
“The judiciary and the whole judicial process has become a mystery for the victim and his family as they are not getting the legal support and advice from anywhere,” said former State Commission for Women Member and activist Vasvi Kido. There is no mechanism to deal with such sensitive cases and the police are also not sensitive towards the rape victims.
Moreover, there are no trauma centers for the rape victims in the state for their moral and mental support, she added.
According to All India Progressive Women’s Association member Sarojini Bist, in order to fix responsibility towards the police officials, a shorter time frame must be followed by the Jharkhand Police to file charge sheets.
“To ensure speedy justice for the rape victims, responsibility must be fixed on the police officials; starting from filing charge sheets within minimum possible time which might prove to be the backbone towards ensuring speedy justice to them,” said Bisht. In most of the cases, the families of the rape victim do not know what actually police is doing in the case which is sometimes delayed intentionally to dilute the intensity of the case.