Confronted with criticism of the government’s incapability to prevent crimes towards girls, the Centre has reminded state and Union Territories of current legal guidelines for “obligatory motion by police in instances of towards girls”.
Home Ministry issued an advisory guideline on Saturday, highlighting three sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The three sections deal with compulsory registration of FIR, completion of the investigation (in relation to rape) within 60 days, and a mandatory medical examination with individual consent by a qualified medical professional within 24 hours.
The notice mentioned, “It is requested that States/UTs, may suitably issue instructions to all concerned to ensure strict compliance with the provisions in the law… also requested to monitor the cases on ITSSO (an online portal to track sexual offense cases) to ensure suitable follow-up action,”
The center also warned that strict actions will be taken against those who will not adhere to the rules, especially in the context of women’s safety.
The reminder comes in sharp focus following the alleged gang-rape against a woman in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh.
The handling of the Hathras case by Uttar Pradesh’s govt and police has also triggered the protests nationwide and calls for stricter action to prevent crimes against women.
Concerns over women’s safety also become the center of the discussion after the National Crime Records Bureau released its data which mentioned that last month India recorded an average of 87 rape cases every day in 2019, a total of 4,05,861 cases during the year against women – a rise of over seven percent from 2018.
