The Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC), a non-partisan and not-for-profit citizen’s group, has called for immediate intervention of the Chief Minister, Home Minister and Bangalore Police Commissioner in implementing strong and decisive measures to ensure safety of women.
“There are heinous acts committed against women in Bangalore almost every day. Lack of respect for women in our society is appalling and this can be considered the root cause of incidents of women being violated,” Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, President B.PAC, stated in a release.
“Repeated brutal acts of violence against women across the country reflects a larger societal malaise and deep-rooted prejudices. It is high time we take steps to protect our women and children,” said Revathy Ashok, Core Committee Member of B.PAC.
Suggestions
■ Implementation of the Verma Committee Report, headed by the late Chief Justice of India J S Verma, and the Criminal Law Amendment that came out earlier this year. Both reports dealt with issues related to stringent laws, increased judicial capacity, conviction for an offence of rape and term of imprisonment.
■ Convene a special session of the Legislature to discuss crimes against women and create seriousness and urgency among the police, judiciary, bureaucracy and society at large.
■ Create a database of information on complaints filed on sexual crimes against women in each police station across the state. The reports should include details of the accused, progress on the complaints, conviction rates and punishment imposed. This database should be made available to the public.
■ A separate procedure to record statement of the victims in the presence of her lawyer/magistrate in special cases. This is to ensure that the victims are not further traumatised and statements are not tampered with at any level.
■ Intensify night surveillance and patrolling across Bangalore. Infrastructural improvements such as better street lighting, surveillance cameras and public transportation.