25-May-2018: Women Safety Division in MHA

MHA has created a new Division to address issues of women safety comprehensively. This Division would deal with all aspects of women safety in coordination with relevant Ministries/Departments and State Governments.

Smt. Punya Salila Srivastava, AGMUT Cadre officer of 1993 batch has been posted as Joint Secretary to head this Division.

The new Division will deal with the following subjects:‑

1. Crimes against women, SCs & STs.
2. Crimes against children, elderly persons.
3. Anti-trafficking Cell.
4. Matters relating to Prison legislation and prison Reforms.
5. All schemes under NIRBHAYA fund.
6. Crime and Criminal Tracking & Network System (CCTNS)
7. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)

In order to address offences against women particularly rape in a holistic and time bound manner, the Division would focus to enhance capacity of the existing administrative, investigative, prosecution and judicial machinery, along with appropriate measures for rehabilitation of victims and bringing attitudinal changes in society.

It was considered to create a National Mission for the safety of women, with participation of stakeholder Ministries/Departments, who would undertake specified actions in a time bound manner. These included setting up of Special Fast Track Courts (FTCs), strengthening of forensic set up and building up of National Registry of Sexual offenders, appointing additional Public Prosecutors, and providing appropriate medical and rehabilitation facilities to victims. Issues like sensitization of children through appropriate changes in school curriculum, a media campaign for raising awareness, checking proliferation of pornography materials and online contents etc. will also be addressed.

The National Mission for Safety of Women would result in following:

• For giving a credible response to emerging situation of crimes against women, especially minor girls
• Focus on time bound implementation of measures with tangible impact on women safety.
• Improved coordination by Stakeholder Departments; Justice, MHA, WCD, School Education, Health, Deity, Legal Affairs, Information & Broadcasting
• Improved Monitoring at Mission level of the time bound prosecution and investigation in cases of rape and other matters related to women safety

It may be recalled that Union Cabinet on 21.04.2018 had approved Ministry of Home Affairs' proposal for promulgation of Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 and a number of other measures for effective implementation of the amended provisions of criminal laws aimed at enhancing women safety. The Cabinet had approved the Promulgation of Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 to amend the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, (Cr. Pc), with consequential amendments in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, 2012 (POSCO) and the Indian Evidence Act 1872. The said Ordinance was promulgated on 21.04.2018.

In order to effectively implement amendments made in criminal law, the Cabinet has also approved following measures :‑

1. Setting up of Fast Track Special Courts: A Centrally funded scheme will be launched to set up fast-track special courts to exclusively decide rape cases and to strengthen such courts where they already exist. Such a scheme will cover strengthening of the physical infrastructure and manpower for Fast Track Special Courts, etc. in consultation with the High Courts and State Governments concerned.
2. Strengthening of the Prosecution Machinery:    On similar lines, the prosecution machinery in States/UTs will be strengthened and a dedicated capacity will be created for effective and timely prosecution of the cases for the Fast Track Special Courts, by sanction of additional posts for public prosecutors, office infrastructure and supporting manpower.
3. Improving the Quality of Investigation: The rate of conviction in cases of rape depends crucially on the quality of evidence collected by the investigating agencies. Adequate provision of special forensic kits for rape cases should be made in all police stations as well as hospitals where such medico-legal cases are handled to improve the quality of forensic evidence and thereby strengthen the case of the prosecution. Dedicated and trained manpower will be provided for investigation of sexual offences in a time bound manner.
4. Special Forensic Laboratories:    One or more specialized Forensic Laboratories adequately staffed and equipped, will be set in each State/UT to exclusively deal with the forensic needs of the rape cases, in an efficient and time bound manner.

An important aspect in investigation of rape cases concerns tracking of the accused persons and sharing of information with the concerned agencies in this regard. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) will maintain database and profile of sexual offenders at the national level and share it with the States/UTs on regular basis. NCRB data will be used by the police for verification of antecedents for prospective employers and would from part of the CCTNS. The preparatory work for creating this database urgently has commenced.

The new Division in MHA will oversee the implementation of the above measures in a focussed way.

15-Apr-2018: Goa coastal security exercise on April 18, 19

A coastal security exercise, ‘Sagar Kavach Goa-01/18’, is scheduled to be held in Goa on April 18 and 19. The objective is to provide seamless seaward cover by all security agencies from the coastal belt area line to the limit of territorial waters: 12 nautical miles. The exercise will also assess the effectiveness of the fishing community in serving as ‘eye and ears’ for early warning of seaward threat.

Under the supervision of the chief secretary, the exercise is being conducted and coordinated by the Indian Coast Guard. Besides, the Indian Navy, Goa police, Goa coastal security intelligence agencies, MPT, ports administration department, CISF, and the Customs will take part in the exercise. The service of Drishti lifeguards present at the beaches of Goa will also be utilised.

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