VIJAYAWADA: Lambasting the Opposition for questioning the government’s sincerity in protecting women, Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharita said the Disha initiatives were being strictly implemented across the State, and the government has accorded priority to ensuring the safety of women. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, the minister decried the Opposition TDP’s comment, and said financial aid was announced to Ramya’s family as a humanitarian gesture. The government was not washing its hands of the case.
Nalla Ramyasri, a 20-year-old BTech student, was murdered in public view by a youth in Guntur city on Sunday. Sucharita had handed over a cheque of Rs 10 lakh to the victim’s family on Monday.
“The Disha Bill was introduced in the Assembly and sent for the Presidential assent, and at the same time infrastructure to implement the provisions of the Bill--18 Disha police stations, three forensic labs have been set up. The Opposition leader is asking where is the Disha Act.
He should be aware that though the Disha Bill is yet to be made into an Act, the police department has already been working with the same spirit to control crime against women, and solve the cases in an expeditious manner,” she said. The minister pointed out that the investigation into a crime has now been carried out faster than the three-four months it used to take earlier. In 2019, it took around 100 days to investigate a case, while in 2020 it was brought down to 86 and in 2021, it was further slashed to 42 days.
“Though the Act is yet to be implemented in letter, it is being implemented in spirit, and in 1,645 cases, chargesheets were filed within seven days, which was one of the important provisions of the Act. Similarly, chargesheets were filed in 1,531 cyber-bullying cases and in 2,017 sexual harassment cases,” she said.