Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana said on Wednesday that the force would like to bring a new law to deal with snatching cases in the capital. Interacting with the media at the Indian Women’s Press Corps, Asthana talked about women’s safety, rise in cyber crime and street crimes.
He said the authorities have contacted government officials and “hoped” to bring in a separate section in the law so that the perpetrators get maximum punishment. At present, the accused caught snatching have been booked under sections 379 (theft) and 356 (criminal use of force) or 390 (dacoity) of the IPC.
The new law, which has already been implemented by the Haryana government, will increase the jail term for offenders to 14 years and make the offense non-bailable. New clauses were added to Section 379 of the IPC in the Anti-Snatching Act of the Haryana Government. Delhi Police is also planning to repeat the amendments to give stringent punishment to the offenders.
There has been a 30% increase in snatching and dacoity incidents this year, with over 7,504 cases registered till October 31, according to data released by the police.
In March this year, 25-year-old Simran Kaur was stabbed to death in an attempt to snatch outside her house in Adarsh Nagar. She was walking with her mother and newborn when the accused tried to snatch her chain and phone. On resisting, the accused killed him.
Talking about the safety of women in the city, Asthana said that all police stations will now have a separate investigation team of inspector-level officers who will help the victims in filing complaints.
“We have already reduced the police response time for SOS calls from 7-8 minutes to just 3 minutes and 8 seconds (on average),” Asthana said.
Police data shows that over 1,725 rape cases were registered till October 31 this year. This is an increase of 18% over the previous year.
However, Asthana told the media that only 1 per cent of the total rape cases are such where the accused are unaware of the victim. In 46 per cent of the cases, the accused are family members or friends of the victim. He said that 11% of cases involve neighbours, 28% are known persons and 14% are extended family.
The police will also set up ‘shadow police booths’ for women in areas with less connectivity. “These booths will work in line with the traffic staff, beat police staff and local people. We are also imparting soft-skill training to the employees to ensure that victims and cases are dealt with sensitively,” Asthana said.
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