Home Ministry to disband special task force on women’s safety in city

The Union Home Ministry has decided to disband the Special Task Force on women’s safety in Delhi, a move which Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Thursday termed as “highly retrograde” and “anti-women”.

It appealed to Home Minister Rajnath Singh to review the decision, saying the STF is the only forum in the Capital for coordination between the Centre and the state on the issue of women’s safety. The task force was established in 2013 in the aftermath of the brutal Nirbhaya gang-rape.

“Crimes against women and girls are increasing and in May, 2016 alone, Delhi witnessed over 201 cases of rape of which 82 were of minors. Worse still, in 31 cases, the victims were between the ages of 2 to 13 years. In light of these horrifying numbers, it is appalling that instead of strengthening the institutional mechanisms for fighting crimes against women in the state, the Home Ministry is disbanding the Special Task Force which is the only forum existing in Delhi for cooperative coordination between the Centre and the state on the issue of women safety,” said DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal in a letter to Singh. 

“This highly retrograde step by the Home Ministry also appears to be a direct reaction to two notices issued by the Delhi Commission of Women to the Union Home Secretary in a bid to make the Special 

Task Force on women’s safety more effective and regular,” she alleged.

Maliwal said the Commission has been informed that the Home Ministry, while ordering disbanding of the STF, has requested LG Najeeb Jung to reconstitute a task force under his Chairmanship consisting representatives of Delhi Police, GNCTD and other related officials, which she said was “strange.”