Northeast delegation meets home ministry official

NEW DELHI - A delegation of activists and lawyers from the northeast Friday met a home ministry official to discuss the issue of the safety of women in the capital, especially from the northeast, following the gangrape of a Mizo woman here.

“We wanted to meet the home minister (P. Chidambaram) but he is pre-occupied with some earlier commitments. So, we met the joint secretary, M. Gopal Reddy, and put forth our demands to make the city safer for women,” Madhu Chandra, spokesperson of the Northeast Support Centre and Helpline, said.

Chandra said that in addition to their earlier demands for a more sensitised police force and awareness campaigns across the city, the delegation put in some additional demands in the memorandum submitted to Reddy.

“We demanded a fast track legal system to handle cases of harassment against women. We have also said that there should be a uniform helpline number across India so that women travelling to different cities don’t have to grapple for the numbers in dire need,” Chandra told IANS, adding that the women helpline number in Delhi, 1091, is not effective.

“Also, the police should be more vigilant and strict, and swift action should be taken against the culprits. The issue is not just about the girl from Mizoram who was raped, but much bigger. We requested that the home ministry should monitor that the Delhi government and Delhi Police stand by their commitments,” Chandra said.

On Nov 23 night, a BPO staffer, a native of Mizoram, was abducted by five men and gangraped in a moving goods carrier here. Five of the attakers have been arrested.