Punjab, U`khand unveil measures to prevent crime against women

Chandigarh/Dehradun: In the backdrop of the Delhi gang-rape incident, Punjab and Uttarakhand on Monday came out with a slew of measures, including lodging of gender-related cases at complainants` residences instead of police stations, to effectively combat crimes against women and children.

Both the state governments also decided to set up fast track courts to try crimes against women and induct more women in police forces to deal sensitively with gender-related cases. At a meeting presided by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, it was decided that no complainant of gender-related cases would be called at police stations in future and the complainant would be examined at her residence by the police accompanied by a lady police official that too in the presence of her family members. The Chief Minister also asked the DGP to depute only gazetted officers not below the rank of DSP to be a supervisory officer in investigating gender-related cases, an official spokesman said in Chandigarh. He also instructed that a dedicated telephone number manned by lady constables be set up in all police stations to deal with complaints of gender-related crimes so that the complainants could with their grievances without any fear, hesitation or inhibition. The Chief Minister in a letter to Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice AK Sikri impressed upon him to allocate dedicated courts in all districts across the state to ensure speedy trial of cases involving women and children. Badal also constituted a four-member committee comprising the Advocate General, the Principal Secretary (Home), the DGP and the Director Prosecution & Litigation to recommend stricter laws to deal with the accused involved in such dastardly acts against humanity especially women and children besides swifter procedures to be adopted for speedy prosecution. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said a toll-free service will soon be started in Dehradun to register women`s complaints and fast track courts set up to dispose of cases related to crimes against women. The fast track courts will come up in Dehradun, Haridwar, Udhamsingh Nagar and Nainital districts, he said. Women will not have to go to a police station to register their complaints, he said adding steps will be taken to send police personnel to their homes to register their complaints, he said. A separate cell headed by a senior police official will be created at the state police headquarters here to deal with crime against women, Bahuguna told reporters in Dehradun. PTI