We want city women to become braver: Bassi

A protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

The Capital has recorded over 20 per cent increase in the number of rape cases reported this year compared to last year. While in 2013, 1,559 cases of rape were registered, 1,900 cases have been reported so far.

However, Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi attributed the increase to awareness. He added that he will only be satisfied when there is zero crime against women in the Capital. “I would like to tell you that after December 16 incident, women feel more confident about reporting such incidents. Changes made in the law have also helped.”

“We want the women of Delhi to become braver. In the last one year, we have imparted self-defence training to 14,000 women. We have focused especially on school girls in the age group of 15-16 years as they are the most vulnerable lot,” he said, adding that 1,000 pepper sprays will be distributed.

The police are taking all steps to ensure that crimes against women are not suppressed, he said, adding that a number of steps have been taken to ensure that woman who to come to a police station are heard effectively and investigation is carried out and culprits brought to book. He also said that the government has decided to increase the number of women personnel in the Delhi Police.