Tripura gets special courts for crimes against women

The Tripura High Court has constituted two fast track courts to deal with cases of crime against women following a request from the state government, an official said here Friday.

A notification issued Friday by the Tripura High Court's registrar general, Manik Chakraborty, said all pending cases of crimes against women will be transferred to these two courts.

"The Tripura High Court has declared the west Tripura additional district and session judge court and the first class judicial magistrate court in Agartala as two separate fast track courts," Chakraborty said.

Tripura Law and School Education Minister Tapan Chakraborty said that after the Dec 16, 2012 rape incident in New Delhi, the union law minister had requested chief ministers of all states to take steps to set up fast track courts for speedy trial of cases of crimes against women.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said the strength of women police personnel would be increased to 20 percent from the current eight percent of the total police personnel to deal with crimes against women.

"The Tripura government would set up all-women police stations in each of the eight districts in the state, and subsequently, in each of the 23 sub-divisions. Currently, three all-women police stations are working, another one would start soon in the state," Sarkar said at a meeting here Thursday.

Sarkar, who also holds the home portfolio, said there are special women desks in all the 67 police stations across Tripura to deal with cases of crimes against women.

Following an increase in incidents of crimes against women, the Tripura government had held an all-party meeting here June last and finalised multi-pronged strategies to check the menace.