DCW to study 'increasing' crimes against women,writes to Bassi

Stating that the law and order situation in Delhi is "deteriorating at an alarming rate", new Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal today asked Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi to furnish information about "increasing" complaints of crimes against women.
In her two letters, Maliwal, who was handpicked by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the post, raised the issue of the brutal murder of a teenager girl Meenakshi in Anand Parbat area last month and said the incident which has "shamed" Delhi is not just the murder of an individual but reflects on the failure of entire system and society.

"In light of the Meenakshi murder case and the increasing rate of crime against women in the state, we wish to undertake a study on women safety in Delhi and come up with recommendations for the central, state governments and Delhi police.
"For this we will be taking Anand Parbat as a pilot area and would request you to the provide us with the details of all complaints received by the police station here," it said.
Maliwal also sought information on the number of complaints of crime against women and girls including rape, molestation and sexual harassment the city.
She also sought information on total strength (rank-wise) of the police force in Delhi, out of this, number of women in police and list of police stations in which highest number of complaints of crime against women were reported in 2014-15.

"The law and order situation in Delhi is deteriorating at an alarming rate. According to the latest figures of the National Crime Records Bureau, everyday Delhi is witnessing over five cases of rape and 12 cases of molestation," the DCW chief noted.

"Women security has become one of the most important issues in today's time," she said and asked the Delhi police chief to furnish the list of spots in the city where highest number of complaints of crime against women were reported in 2014-15.
"Out of these, list of spots which are near schools, colleges and Universities," the letter said.

"We are conducting a study on women safety in Delhi. This data is crucial for the same and will assist in fulfilling our statutory mandate of giving recommendations to the Central and State government on the issue of women safety," said DCW chief Maliwal in her letter.
The DSW Chairperson also stressed on the need for cooperation between DCW and Delhi Police on the various functions of DCW and said she hoped to have a strong working relationship with the Delhi Police.
The missives by Maliwal came amid an ongoing war of words between Kejriwal and the Police Commissioner.
The Delhi Police comes under the Union Home Ministry and the Kejriwal Government has been demanding that it should have control over the force as it was not working effectively to check crime in the national capital.