The Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, Lalitha Kumaramangalam, on Thursday said she was “shocked” by the audacious murder of engineer Swathi at the Nungambakkam Raliway Station and had issued a notice to the Director General of Police and the Southern Railway calling for a status report.
Speaking to The Hindu over the phone, Ms. Kumaramangalam said she was “taken aback” by reports that the railway station did not have “something as basic” as CCTV surveillance. “I hail from Chennai. It is even more disturbing for me that such an audacious murder could take place in a city considered relatively safe for women. My daughter used to travel late hours when she was working in a newspaper. In that way, I could relate to the shock. It looks like safety measures were inadequate in that particular public space,” she said.
Ms. Kumaramangalam said she was also worried about the “lack of concrete information” on the progress of the investigation into the case.
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“After the case was transferred to the police there, we had also issued a notice to the Director General of Police seeking a status report on the investigation as soon as possible,” she added.
The Chairperson said as a larger measure, the Commission will go into the laws governing stalking and see if they are strong enough. “We are also looking into cyber laws as online stalking has become a serious issue. However, these are long-term measures,” she stated.