No woman feels safe in Delhi, says HC

While questioning the measures taken and the method of policing adopted by Delhi Police for the extensive 'crime mapping' exercise conducted here, the Delhi High Court Wednesday said "no woman feels safe in the capital".

A division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Siddharth Mridul was informed by the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DLSA) that the rate of such crimes have not reduced since the crime mapping was done last year.

"Your measures are not working. You have to take another measure. No woman feels safe in the capital," the bench remarked after the Delhi Police said the rate of crimes against women has increased but their reporting too has gone up.

The crime mapping had yielded positive results in terms of the data acquired on rapes, molestation, and harassment and on the pockets where crimes of such nature occur more frequently than others.

It had identified 44 'red-flagged' areas in Delhi, where the court had asked Delhi Police to take immediate action in terms of better policing, gender sensitisation and public awareness programmes.

The court, which is looking to get result-oriented action from Delhi Police, expressed displeasure at its failure to analyse the data made available by 'crime mapping' and tackling the problems according to the areas.

It directed the police to submit a status report within two weeks indicating the measures they have taken after the crime mapping and the result of these measures.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocate Gaurav Bansal, which cited surveys by independent organisations that claimed a recent spurt in crimes and sought directions for taking adequate steps to prevent it.

The petition said the Delhi government failed to provide an atmosphere conducive to the growth of girl students and women.

Bansal submitted a press release issued by Delhi Police in April last year which said molestation and harassment recorded 600 percent and 783.67 percent rise respectively in the last few years.

Earlier, the bench had also directed police to carry out a sociological study as to why such crime occurs in certain pockets.

This, the court said, will help deal with the problem in a scientific manner.