Under all-round attack over the barbaric gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi, government on Wednesday announced a slew of measures to instill confidence among people shaken by the brutality of the Sunday night crime.
"It has been decided that there shall be immediate crackdown on buses having tinted glass and heavy curtains. They shall be impounded immediately, if they do not remove them. All buses will be asked to keep their lights on while plying at night in Delhi.
"All buses must be parked with their owners and not their drivers. They will be impounded immediately on violation. The photo identity card of drivers should be displayed on the bus with the helpline number in bold. Delhi Police have been asked to provide more number of vehicles for patrolling," Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told the Rajya Sabha.
His response came as the issue kept reverberating in the House for the second day with members including Jaya Bachchan (Samajwadi Party), T Siva (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), Derek 'O' Brien (Trinamool Congress) and Venkaiah Naidu
(Bharatiya Janata Party) raising the matter and seeking to know as to what steps the government has taken in the wake of the ghastly incident.
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Delhi gang-rape: Crackdown on buses with tinted glass
Earlier, Shinde had a meeting with Delhi Police chief Neeraj Kumar during which it was decided that a drive will be launched to ensure removal of tinted glasses and curtains from buses. It was also decided that the mobile number and licence number of the drivers will be displayed in bold on the buses.
The measures came a day after Congress President Sonia Gandhi shot off strongly-worded letters to Shinde and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, saying it was a "matter of shame" that such incidents happen with painful regularity.
The home minister said that four of the six accused have already been arrested and police teams are carrying out raids to nab the other two as a Special Investigation Team led by a DSP rank officer has been set up to monitor the investigation.
Shinde said a woman IPS officer will head a police team which has been asked to regularly take stock of the medical condition of the victim in hospital and remain in touch with her parents.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar had visited the hospital on Wednesday night to see the victim.
The girl was raped allegedly by six men in a moving bus, which had tinted glass and curtains on it on Sunday night. The girl continues to be in a critical state. Police has also been asked to get all details about private bus drivers hired by schools.
Naidu wanted the home minister to outline the government's response to the Opposition's demand for capital punishment in such cases. Naidu also wanted to know why there were no police at the three police control room points, which the bus crossed when the crime was being committed inside it.
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Delhi gang-rape: Crackdown on buses with tinted glass
Shinde said the incident could not come to the notice of the PCR police as no voice was heard from inside the bus, whose window panes were tinted and had curtains.
On the demand for enhanced punishment to rape accused, he said the Criminal Law Amendment Bill for dealing with sexual offences has already been introduced in Lok Sabha which seeks to enhance punishment for such crimes up to life imprisonment.
P J Kurien, who was in the Chair, said it was very serious issue. "A heinous and horrendous crime has been committed. Every mind in the House, every person is agitated. It is a shame on our country," he observed.
N K Singh (Janata Dal United) said the issue of capital punishment can be revisited if it comes to such cases.
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