Centre-states meeting on women`s safety today

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: Senior officials from the Centre will on Friday hold crucial discussions with the Chief Secretaries and top cops of states on the steps required to ensure safety of women across the country. The meeting that will take place in the national capital will focus on the rehabilitation and compensation of rape victims, gender sensitisation of the police force and projection of women across different media platforms. The crucial meeting has been called in the aftermath of shocking gang-rape and brutal attack on a 23-year-old medical student in Delhi last month that triggered huge protests across the country. The girl, who was being treated in a Delhi hospital, was later flown to a Singapore hospital for further treatment. However, she succumbed to her injuries last week after battling for her life for 13 days. During today’s meeting, the Union Home, Law and Women and Child Development Ministers will review the progress of investigations and trial of cases of violence against women across all states. The conference will also look at "challenges in combating crime and strategies at eliminating violence" against women, a release from the Home Ministry said. The Delhi Police on Thursday formally charged five men with the gruesome murder and rape of the young medical student. They have also been charged with destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy. If convicted, they could face the death penalty. The sixth accused, who claims to be a juvenile, will be subjected to a bone-marrow test to ascertain his age. If the test proves that he is not a minor then his case will be handled by a juvenile court where the maximum sentence for such crime is three years in a correctional centre. After the Delhi gang-rape case, the clamour for stringent laws for dealing crimes against women has become louder and women’s safety is high on the Centre’s agenda.