Shaken by Sunday’s gruesome assault on a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in the national capital, the government has announced increased police patrolling, immediate crackdown on vehicles having tinted glass and curtains, and impounding of buses and autos driven by unverified drivers.
Making a statement in Parliament on Wednesday, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said it was decided to augment the control room fleet of the Delhi Police. All new vehicles would be GPS-enabled so that their movements could be tracked at the central control room.
Mr. Shinde’s statement came after he reviewed the situation with Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar. The Delhi Police comes directly under the Home Ministry.
All commercial vehicles, including buses, would be asked to keep their lights on during night while plying in Delhi. Off-duty buses must be parked with their owners, and not with their drivers or other staff. Commercial vehicles, including buses, violating the contract carriage terms or any other condition would be impounded and their permits cancelled.
The police would undertake verification of drivers and staff of all public vehicles and all buses and autos being plied by unverified staff would be impounded, said Mr. Shinde. A drive would be launched to ensure removal of tinted glasses and curtains from buses. The mobile number and licence number of drivers would be displayed in bold on buses.
Meanwhile, the issue of rape was raised in both Houses. Women MPs from the National Democratic Alliance — the BJP, the Shiv Sena, the Akali Dal and the Janata Dal (United ) — held a protest outside Parliament demanding protection for women against growing atrocities.
Matter of shame: Sonia
The measures announced by the government came a day after Congress president Sonia Gandhi visited the victim in Safdarjung Hospital late Tuesday night and wrote strongly worded letters to the Home Minister and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, saying it was a “matter of shame” that such incidents happened with painful regularity.
