Ministry of Home Affairs lists Special Measures for Safety of Women in Parliamentary reply

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched a “National Database on Sexual Offenders” (NDSO) on 20th September 2018 to facilitate investigation and tracking of sexual offenders across the country, MHA said in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

Listing the steps taken to enhance women’s safety, MHA said it has launched an online analytic tool “Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences” to monitor and track time-bound investigations in sexual assault cases in accordance with the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018.

Advertisement

In order to improve investigation, MHA has taken steps to strengthen DNA analysis units in Central and State Forensic Science Laboratories.

This includes setting up of State-of-the-Art DNA Analysis Unit in Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh. MHA has also sanctioned the setting-up and upgrading of DNA Analysis units in State Forensic Science Laboratories in 20 States/UTs.

MHA has notified guidelines for the collection of forensic evidence in sexual assault cases and the standard composition in a sexual assault evidence collection kit.

To facilitate adequate capacity in manpower, various training and skill-building programs have been undertaken for Investigation Officers, Prosecution Officers, and Medical Officers.

The Bureau of Police Research & Development has distributed 14,950 Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits to States/UTs as an orientation kit as part of training.

MHA has also approved two projects for setting up and strengthening Women Help Desks in Police Stations and Anti-Human Trafficking Units in all districts of the country.

The Criminal Law (Amendment), Act 2013 was enacted for effective deterrence against sexual offences. Further, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 was enacted to prescribe even more stringent penal provisions including the death penalty for rape of girls below the age of 12 years.

The Act also inter-alia mandates completion of investigation and filing of charge sheet in rape cases in 2 months and trials to also be completed in 2 months.

Emergency Response Support System provides a pan-India, single internationally recognized number (112) based system for all emergencies, with the computer-aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched a cyber-crime reporting portal on 20th September 2018 for citizens to report obscene content.

Using technology to aid smart policing and safety management, Safe City Projects have been sanctioned in the first Phase in eight cities (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow & Mumbai).

The projects have been prepared by State Governments, taking into account the need for identification of hot spots for crimes against women for the development of critical assets in various areas including infrastructure, technology adoption, and capacity building in the community through awareness programmes.