COMMITMENT: Badal committed to ensure self-esteem and modesty of women and children

Chandigarh, December 31, 2012: Reiterating his firm resolve to ensure respect and modesty of women and children at all costs, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today announced a slew of measures to effectively combat crimes against women and children in general and maintain their self-esteem by reposing their confidence in the law and order machinery in particular.

Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that these path breaking decisions were taken in a high level meeting chaired by Badal here at his official residence this morning.

The Chief Minister categorically directed the Police authorities that no complainant of gender related cases would be called at Police stations in future as a mark of respect and dignity of the women. The complainant would be examined at her residence by the police authorities accompanied by a lady police official that too in the presence of her family members. Likewise, the Chief Minister also asked the DGP to depute only the Gazetted officers not below the rank of DSP to be supervisory officer in investigating gender related cases. He also instructed that a dedicated telephone numbers manned by lady constables would be set up in all the Police stations to deal with complaints of gender related crimes so that the complainants could freely come forth with their grievances without any fear, hesitation or inhibition.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister in a letter to the Chief Justice of Punjab & 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 on a fast track.

The Chief Minister also constituted a four member committee comprising Advocate General, Principal Secretary (Home), DGP and 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 and the committee had been asked to submit the report within 10 days. The committee would also recommend measures to strengthen the prosecution wing assisting the courts so that perpetrators of such heinous crimes against women and children could be booked expeditiously to ensure quick dispensation of justice to the victims.

The Chief Minister also asked the DGP to depute atleast a Lady Sub-Inspector besides requisite Lady Constables in each Police station across the state to firmly deal with the crimes against women and children. For this purpose, he also gave in principle approval for the recruitment of 500 lady Sub-Inspectors (SIs) to ensure their posting in all these Police stations of state. The DGP informed the Chief Minister that the Punjab & Haryana High Court had stayed the recruitment process of SIs. He asked the Advocate General Punjab to take up the issue in Punjab & Haryana High Court to get this stay vacated at the earliest so that the process for the recruitment of 500 ladies SIs could be initiated without any further delay.

In a bid to instill a sense of faith and confidence in the state policing and ensure justice to the victims, the Chief Minister asked the DGP to issue detailed guidelines thereby instructing all the SSP/DCP to monitor cases of crime against women and children on daily basis and ADGP (Crime) on weekly basis.

Badal also directed the SSPs/DCPs or the senior most SPs to be available in their offices from 10 to 11 a.m. for attending to the complaints of crime against women and children besides ensuring their prompt redressal.

Prominent amongst others who attended the meeting included Advocate General Punjab Ashok Aggarwal, Principal Secretary Home DS Bains, DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister SK Sandhu and Special Principal Secretary Gaggandip Singh Brar.