In the wake of the widespread outrage over the recent gangrape of a 23-year-old paramedical Student here, the Centre has decided to prepare a state-wide dossier of all the rape convicts with their name, photographs and addresses which would eventually be made public.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs R P N Singh said that he had directed the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to prepare a directory of all the rape convicts and upload their photographs, names and addresses on its website.
The NCRB maintains a national-level data base of crimes and criminals and is also implementing Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) to ensure that the details of all the criminals can be accessed by police stations connected through its main server. “We are planning to start it in Delhi. Photographs, names and addresses of the rapists will be uploaded on the Delhi Police website also,” Singh told reporters here. According to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials, the proposed plan will cover all the states and Union Territories and will expose the sex offenders before the public.
However, the process could be hampered by the slow rate of conviction.
“In some cases, it takes (around) 10-20 years before the accused is convicted by the courts. What we also need, along with this mechanism, are fast-track courts in all the states and Union Territories to ensure that the cases related to crimes against women receive a speedy trial,” they said.
Sources said MHA officials held a meeting with the NCRB to work out the software design and other technical issues related to the proposed data base.
And NCRB needs to collate the data and it will also have to design the web dossier to include the photographs and addresses of the convict.