Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi on Saturday assured women entrepreneurs in the Capital that safety of women is the utmost priority of the law enforcing agencies. Speaking at a panel discussion, organised by FICCI ladies Organisation (FlO), he said the department has launched a slew of measures to ensure a safe environment for the fairer sex, including gender sensitisation, recruiting more women police personnel and segregation of 100 PCR vans with women police personnel. Bassi further added that as part of its concerted efforts to ensure women security, the agency has identified zones which are more prone to such crimes and remedial measures are being taken to take care of such areas.
While commenting on the steep rise in crime against women in the Capital, Bassi said statistics show that post December 16 gang-rape, there has been an increase in such cases. “Cases of rape have doubled and eve-teasing cases have quadrupled in the last one year.
According to a data compiled by police, while 706 cases of rape were reported in the city during 2012, the number has risen to 1,636 in 2013. So far, in the first six months of 2014, 984 cases of rape have been reported against 869 in the same period last year. Bassi said that out of the 984 cases reported this year till June 30, 759 have been worked out.
“Almost 71 per cent (546) of them were worked out within one week and nearly 87 per cent of cases were solved within two weeks. Most of the cases I monitor myself. I keep at them till the time they are cracked,” he said.The total number of all the IPC cases reported in Delhi till June 30 stands at 71,523 this year which is more than double of 33,797 cases, which were reported in the same period last year. However, one of the most significant improvements — since the December 16 case — is that people have now shunned their reluctance and are increasingly coming out to register any case of assault or molestation. Consequently, it was also mandated by an amendment in 2013 that if a woman comes to a police station, she will not be denied registration of an FIR if she reports a cognisable offence,” said Bassi, attributing this to the increase in awareness among victims.
Also present on the occasion were FlO president Neeta Boochra, Special Commissioner of Police (law and Order) Deepak Mishra, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Taj Hassan, Harjinder Kaur, FlO Governing Body Member and lok Sabha MP Meenakshi lekhi.