CHANDIGARH, JULY 12
Except for ration, the accused in rape and eve-teasing cases in Haryana will now be debarred from all such government facilities as old age pension, pension for the physically disabled persons, driving and arm licenses.
These services will remain suspended till the court announces verdict in the case. In case the accused is convicted and sentenced, he would not be eligible for these facilities anymore.
Virtually administering a warning to the perpetrators of crime against women and girls in the state to mend their ways, the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal, announced various significant decisions at a programme on women’s security and empowerment organized under the Ek Aur Sudhar Programme in Panchkula, near here, today.
Reiterating the commitment of his government to make Haryana number one state in the country in terms of safety and security of women and girls, he said a comprehensive scheme for the safety and security of women would be launched either on Independence Day on August 15 or on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan on August 26, 2018.
The Chief Minister said in case a rape victim wanted to hire a lawyer of her choice except for the one provided by the state government, she would be provided financial assistance of Rs 22,000 as fees. Provision of uninterrupted investigation in cases of rape and eve-teasing would be made in all police stations.
The investigation officer would have to complete the investigation into a rape case in one month, and, in eve-teasing within 15 days, otherwise action would be taken against him.
Six Fast Track Courts would be set up in those districts where 50 or more cases of rape, eve-teasing and mental harassment are pending in the courts. These include two in Faridabad and one each in Gurugram, Panipat, Sonipat and Nuh.
“I would shortly meet the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to request him to issue necessary directions to the court to record the statement of a woman on the same day, and not to adjourn the hearing to any other day,” he added.
Mr Manohar Lal announced that girl students of classes 9th to 12th would be given training in self-defence. Instructors for imparting training would be appointed in such girls’ schools as have more than 50 students in 9th and 10th classes.
The Chatra Parivahan Suraksha Scheme would be implemented to provide free-of-cost transport facility for girl students. Under the scheme, the facility of bus, mini-bus or tempo would be made available as per requirement in case there is no high or senior secondary school within three-km radius of a village, and the girl students of 9th and 10th of that village have to go to far away school for studies or want to pursue 11th or 12th in science or commerce stream. The expenditure on this facility would be borne by the government, he added.
Mr Manohar Lal said with a view to providing a safe and secure atmosphere to girls and women during the night, 2,100 new posts have been sanctioned exclusively for night patrolling on the pattern of 1,000 ex-servicemen recruited as Special Police Officers (SPOs) two months ago only for night patroling in Gurugram. Apart from this, special patrolling would also be carried out in those areas in daytime also where girls and women stay alone in their houses.
Woman has occupied a special place in our society since ancient times immemorial but with the passage of time, the approach towards women has changed and our inclination towards the western culture is responsible for this. There is dire need to change this attitude to develop a sense of respect for the women.
The Chief Minister said during the tenure of his government so far, several steps had been taken for the welfare of women and girls in the state. To enable girl students to get higher education, it has been decided to open a college, preferably a women’s college, at a distance of every 20 kilometers.
During the 44-month tenure of our government, we have opened 44 new colleges, including 29 women’s colleges. With the opening of nine more colleges soon, the state government would achieve its target of setting up one college at a distance of every 20 kilometers. The state government has also opened 15 new co-education colleges, he added.
The Chief Minister in the 48 years since the inception of the state, there was only one women police station in Sonipat. But to ensure that women could report crime against them freely, the present state government has set up 26 women police stations.
Apart from this, the participation of women in the state police has also increased from six per cent to nine per cent. A target has been fixed to further increase it to 20 per cent. The increased number of women in the police would certainly help in curbing the tendency of crime against women, he added.
The Chief Minister said Haryana which had earned a bad name in the country for killing girls in the womb of the mother was now known for improved sex ratio. We took the call given by the Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, at Panipat in 2015 to save the girl child as a challenge.
As a result of the concerted efforts made by the government and people of the state, the sex ratio in the state has reached 922 girls per 1000 boys. We would further take it to 950, he said, adding that sex ratio of the state was 789 in 2001, 832 in 2012 and 871 in 2014, the Chief Minister added.
Earlier, the Chief Minister launched Durga Shakti mobile App and honoured four empowered women for their outstanding contribution in different fields. These included Ms Pankaj Chaudhary the first women bus driver of Sirsa district, Sarpanch of village Dhonch in district Faridabad Mrs Nazma Khan, Mrs Kavita Sharma of village Bhadana district Jhajjar and Mrs Manju Kaushik of Mahendergarh. He also launched Information Education and Communication (IEC) material for text books of school students to generate awareness among girls’ students about the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) and other related acts.
Speaking on this occasion, Women and Child Development Minister, Mrs Kavita Jain said that today girls and women have earned recognition in almost every field. A joint effort on part of all stakeholders is needed to ensure the women empowerment in a real manner, she added.
She said that the present State Government led by Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal is committed for the overall development of women in the State and implemented various schemes in this direction. She also expressed her gratitude to Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi for launching the Beti-Bachao-Beti Padhao programme from Panipat in Haryana as a result of which the sex ratio in the State has reached to 922 girls per 1000 boys.
Among those present on the occasion included MLA Kalka Mrs Latika Sharma, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr Rajesh Khullar, Additional Chief Secretary Home Mr S.S Prasad, Director General of Police Mr B.S Sandhu, Principal Secretary Women and Child Development Mr Raja Shekar Vundru, Director General Information, Public Relations and Languages Department Mr Sameer Pal Srow, Deputy Commissioner Panchkula Mr Mukul Kumar, Project Director of Ek Aur Sudhar Cell Mr Rocky Mittal and senior officers were also present on this occasion.
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