Acid sale to be monitored online

Home Ministry plan to check the increasing incidence of attacks on women

National Congress Party members and acid attack survivors stage ademonstration demanding a ban on over-the-counter sale of acid and strongerlaws to support survivors in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: Meeta Ahlawat

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has expressed concern over the increasing incidence of acid attacks on women and said a system for online monitoring of sale of acid will soon be put in place.

“An online monitoring of sale of acid would be done to put an effective check over such incidents... The system would be first launched in Delhi,” he said at the platinum jubilee function of a women’s college here.

Mr. Singh said the Union Home Ministry had sent an advisory to all Chief Ministers to give 33 per cent representation to women in the security forces.

“We need to increase the strength of women in security forces. As of now, the strength of the central paramilitary force is around 10 lakh in which representation of women is a mere 1.4 per cent ... Our target is to increase this participation to at least five per cent in the next three years,” he said.

Emphasising the need for institutions to equip their students with self-defence skills, he said, “Girl students of all schools and colleges should be given training in self-defence.”

Over the increasing incidence of harassment of women and rape, he said: “A system is being developed wherein a control room can be informed with the push of a button of a mobile phone and it will also reach PCR [police control room] mobile vans.” Appreciating the courage of Nobel Peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai, he said despite attack by certain forces, she had undertaken a laudable campaign to promote education for girls.

Nation building

Mr. Rajnath, while asking students to play a meaningful role in building nation and society along with the family, said people should get rid of the inferiority complex that western countries were ahead in science and technology.

Citing examples of ancient Indian seers, he said the world had learnt from India.

The Home Minister said that under a planned conspiracy, Macaulay implemented such an educational system where roots of the people of the country got disconnected from their glorious past.

“We have to regain the lost pride. Not only in economic sector, but we have to emerge as a superpower in spiritual world as well,” he said.

“I consider myself to be lucky that my first child was a girl,” he said. The Minister felicitated meritorious students on the occasion.

(With additional reporting by PTI)