Ensure speedy justice in cases of atrocities on women: Uddhav

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said his government will not tolerate atrocities against women and stressed on swiftly bringing the perpetrators in such cases to justice.

He said the state cabinet on Wednesday discussed Andhra Pradesh's Disha Act which mandates disposal of cases of atrocities against women within 21 days and handing out the death penalty in certain cases.

"In Maharashtra, cases (of atrocities against women) should not be prolonged like in the Nirbhaya case in which execution of the guilty is still pending," he said.

Thackeray said he has asked top police officials to ensure culprits in such cases are punished at the earliest.

"I have directed the DGP to ensure the accused (in such cases) are dealt with sternly. If needed, beat them up and prosecute them in the quickest possible time," he said at a function here in the evening.

The Chief Minister's comments came in the wake of two incidents of atrocities against women reported in the last four days.

On Monday, a female college lecturer was set ablaze by a stalker in Wardha district's Hinganghat area. In another gruesome incident, a Dalit woman was set afire by a man in a village in Aurangabad district on Sunday midnight.

"Atrocities against women will not be tolerated in Maharashtra," Thackeray asserted.

Meanwhile, the Hinganghat and Aurangabad incidents came up for discussion during the cabinet meeting chaired by Thackeray earlier in the day, official sources said.

"It was stressed upon to take immediate and stern action against the perpetrators. The home department is also thinking about a law to deal with such cases and ensure speedy justice for women," the sources said.

Separately, an official statement issued on Wednesday quoted Thackeray as saying that he has ordered the home department to take immediate and stern action against the culprits in criminal cases where women are victims.

He also said women safety is the "topmost" priority of his government and warned those from the police department found to be derelict in duty will not be spared.

"The government will stand behind women and provide them necessary legal protection and assistance to ensure their cases are presented before the court with all the evidences after immediate registration of FIR and speedy probe," the statement said.

The chief minister asked the home department, handled by his alliance partner NCP, to check feasibility of setting up all-woman police stations in each of the district so that women can register complaints about atrocities against them without hesitation.

He said the government has prioritised setting up of fast-track and special courts to see perpetrators in such cases are punished at the earliest, according to the statement.

Thackeray pitched for empowering the state women's commission, it said.