Maliwal meets Rajnath, asks for funds, support

The Hindu: New Delhi: Thursday, 03 December 2015.

Head of Delhi Commission for Women asked for release of
money from Nirbhaya fund.Photo: V. Sudershan

Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal on Wednesday met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and requested him to instruct the Ministry of Women and Child Development to release money from the Nirbhaya fund for installation of CCTV cameras in DTC buses.

The Delhi government had recently asked for Rs. 125 crore from the Nirbhaya fund for installation of CCTV cameras in the DTC buses, but the proposal was turned down by the WCD ministry as it did not find the proposal ‘gender sensitive’. The cameras, however, are being installed in the railways using the same fund.

“The file is stuck in red tape as the officials do not find installation of cameras in buses ‘gender sensitive’. Even the parents of the December 16 gang-rape victim want the fund created for women safety to be utilised and cameras on buses are a must. But the WCD ministry is not releasing the fund,” said Ms. Maliwal.

The Delhi Police’s attitude towards handling cases pertaining to crime against women was also discussed in the meeting. The DCW pointed out that the Himmat app launched by the police received 4,041 complaints till date, but FIRs were registered in only four cases. “We want to study the data provided by the police, but we are yet to get detailed data,” said Ms. Maliwal.

The commission had recently filed an RTI and found that in the last six years, 1,45,000 complaints were received against police officers. “But only 95 FIRs were registered. This needs to be probed,” she said.

The commission wants to carry out a study on the Delhi Police’s functioning and has asked for support from the MHA. “When it comes to handling such cases, the Delhi Police are very insensitive. The figures clearly reflect that the police do not take action when it comes to any of their own.”

The panel had first sought data from the Delhi Police in July after a girl was stabbed to death in Anand Parbat. “We want understand the cause of growing crimes against women and then come up with solutions,” said Ms. Maliwal