CRIME

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities Every time a gruesome rape incident shakes the foundations of our belief in humanity, a few standard arguments make an appearance. Maybe I am being cynical, but my take is that the comments that follow a headline-grabbing rape seem like the script of a 70’s Hindi movie - standard, repetitive, predictable and, at the risk of sounding extremely insensitive, almost entertaining. “Make every rape punishable by capital punishment.” “We cannot ask the state to commit murder. It is barbaric and a violation of human rights.” “Justice…

Unplanned commercialisation is the reason behind the traffic congestion on GST Road, a national highway and a crucial road connecting the suburbs to the city. Accountability here rests with the Pallavaram Municipality, which issues licences to the builders but fails to prevent or penalise irregularities in construction or deviations from rule. Has the outlet allocated space for parking? Is the drainage system proper? What about rainwater harvesting? -- Vital parameters such as these remain unchecked by municipal officials. Incidentally, these have a lot to do with the traffic nightmare that this road has become. Shortcuts and violations In the entire…

Translated by Sandhya Raju தமிழகத்தில் தற்போது பெண்கள் மேம்பாட்டை குறிக்கும் நிறம் பிங்க் என்று தான் சொல்ல வேண்டும். சென்னையின் பல்வேறு பகுதியில் பிங்க் நிற காவல் ரோந்து வாகனங்களை பார்த்திருப்பீர்கள். கடந்த ஜூன் மாதம், பெண்கள் மற்றும் குழந்தைகளுக்கு எதிராக அரங்கேறும் குற்றங்களை தடுக்கும் முயற்சியாக தமிழக அரசால், அம்மா ரோந்து வாகனங்கள் அறிமுகப்படுத்தப்பட்டன.  பெண்கள் காவல் நிலையங்கள், குழந்தை கடத்தல் தடுப்பு பிரிவுகள், சிறார் போலீஸ் பிரிவுகள் போன்ற அனைத்து பிரிவுகளையும் இந்த CWC (Crime against Women and Children) ஒருங்கிணைக்கிறது. இந்த அம்மா ரோந்து வாகனங்களின் பணி என்ன? இந்த வாகனங்களில் அதி நவீன தொழில்நுட்பம் கொண்ட கேமரா மற்றும் ஜிபிஎஸ் வசதி பொருத்துப்பட்டுள்ளது. இக்கட்டான சூழலில் உள்ள பெண்கள் -1091 என்ற எண்ணையும், குழந்தைகள் 1098 என்ற எண்ணையும் அழைக்கலாம், இந்த தகவலை காவல் கட்டுப்பாட்டு மையம் அருகில் உள்ள அம்மா ரோந்து…

Since 1954, November 20th has been observed as World Children's Day. It marks the anniversary of the UN adopting the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. But are our children well-protected from violence and abuse? The recently-released NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) report, 2017, showed that over a quarter of the crimes against children were sexual offences. These were cases filed under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act. In Bengaluru alone, 414 POCSO cases were filed in 2017. So just how do we keep our children safe? And what are the legal options in case a…

Nowhere around the world do residents pay to get killed - not even in the worst mafia or terrorist-infested city. Correction - there is one city. Known earlier as pensioners’ paradise, garden city, and then IT city, it is now ‘garbage city’. Residents here fall ill and die because the taxes they pay for ‘services’ like garbage removal deliver nothing in return. A news report in Deccan Herald this August 15th said, '563 new dengue cases in four days', and 5006 cases overall since January. This translates to over 600 cases per month, or 20 per day. The dengue-causing Aedes…

This September 1st, revised penalties for traffic violations under the new Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, came into effect. Parliament had passed the law in July, at its budget session. The law has provisions for licensing cab aggregators, making contractors liable for faulty road design, changing license renewal rules, and so on. But what has caught the attention of citizens is the stringent penalties for road traffic violations. Citizens have taken to social media to voice their vexation on fines that add up to amounts they've never imagined paying. I was a bit taken aback by all the outrage about…

“I can safely say 50 to 60 percent of Shimla youths are drug addicts, consumers and even peddlers,” said Gaurav, 40, who runs a Drug Rehabilitation and Counselling Centre in Shimla. Once an addict himself, Gaurav said in many cases parents are not willing to accept that their child could be an addict. In his own case, Gaurav credits his parents for helping him fight his drug habit by sending him to a rehabilitation centre in Punjab. Now, Gaurav is doing his bit for others who have fallen into the same habit. “Not all are lucky like me to be…

The three-year war of attrition between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and Lt Governor Anil Baijal over installation of CCTV cameras across the capital appears to be over. Work has now begun on the plan to install 2000 cameras in each of Delhi’s 70 assembly segments, one of the flagship programmes of the Arvind Kejriwal government. The objective is crime prevention. As per police records, Delhi sees one murder, six robberies, as many rapes, nine molestations, 19 snatchings, 126 vehicle thefts and 17 fatal road accidents every day, besides the ever present threat of terrorist attacks. Making the security…

In the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections, 340(21%) out of 1594 candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. Among these candidates, 230(14%) out of 1594 have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.  13 candidates have declared cases related to murder. 29 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women such as rape, assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty, husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty. 26 candidates have declared cases related to hate speech. Party-wise candidates with declared criminal and serious criminal cases Among Congress’s candidates,…

“We want policies and schemes that are people centric, not nominal ones that our elected representatives decide,” say volunteers of Chittoor People’s Action Committee (CPAC). CPAC is a pro-active citizen movement and the voice of the people in Chittoor, a city crying out for basic amenities and infrastructure.   CPAC has interacted with more than 5000 citizens from Chittoor, Gangadhara Nellore and Puthalapattu constituencies, to deliver a data-centric, in-depth citizens' manifesto.  The manifesto is the end product of various surveys and workshops such as Nenu Bharath Aithe (inspired from a political drama movie starring Mahesh Babu). The volunteers of CPAC…