Delhi schoolgirl rape: Shinde assures tough action

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the government is taking incidents of rape very seriously.

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Saturday said the government is taking incidents of rape very seriously, and added that he has given instructions to the police to act firmly on the deplorable incident that took place in Mangolpuri.

"I have given instructions to the police. I spoke yesterday in Parliament on the Maharashtra case (Bhandara rape incident). We have taken these matters very seriously. The government is taking firm steps," he told media here. National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Mamata Sharma has condemned the incident and demanded stringent laws for the crimes committed against women. "Until stringent punishment is announced such incidents will not stop, neither will there be a change in the mentality of society. With this latest rape of a minor, I feel strict action should be taken against teachers," said Sharma. "Though this case comes under the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) but in the next two to three days I will have an inquiry team appointed," she added. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has described the incident as inhuman and a shameful act. A seven-year-old girl was raped on Thursday afternoon on the premises of a primary school being run by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation in the L Block of Mangolpuri. The incident took place during the serving of the midday meal. The police have made no arrests yet in the rape case, but have detained 10 men who had access to the school building, including a security guard and two male teachers of the school, and are questioning them. Rapid Action Force teams have been deployed in the Mangolpuri area, where protests against a seven-year-old girl`s alleged rape at a government school turned violent yesterday. Outraged at the horrific incident involving the rape of a seven-year-old girl, angry locals had taken to the streets, vandalising state transport buses. The protestors also pelted stones at the police personnel deployed on duty. Enraged locals demanded arrest of the culprits as they expressed their anger by clashing with police who were deployed in the area. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has ordered an internal inquiry into the incident and has been asked to submit a report. ANI