New Delhi, Dec 26 (IANS) The government Wednesday asked a retired Delhi High Court judge to probe the gang-rape of a woman here and police lapses and suggest ways to make the national capital safer for women.
“The steps are being taken with the serious intent to find a lasting solution to the problem (of rape) that plagues all metros and other towns of India… That it is happening in Delhi is a matter of shame,” Finance Minister P Chidambaram said after a cabinet meeting.
“As a man, I feel ashamed,” he said. “There is righteous indignation among women… I recognise it.”
Retired judge Usha Mehra is expected to submit her report in three months.
“The inquiry will reconstruct the whole incident, identify lapses on the part of police or any other authority and fix responsibility for such lapses and negligence,” said Chidambaram.
But he said it would be “inappropriate” to remove Delhi Police chief Neeraj Kumar “at this stage” despite the widespread anger over the Dec 16 gang-rape and the police crackdown on young protesters including women.
“I think the commissioner has … apologized for any lapses that may have hurt any innocent person,” the minister said.
He said the government was not fully geared to deal with a flash mob.
The judicial panel would also suggest measures to improve the security of women in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
Chidambaram said the government was open to suggestions from women over security measures.
The report would be placed before parliament with an action taken report, he said.
Chidambaram also said that Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinder had ordered an inquiry into the spat between Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and the Delhi Police chief over the recording of the rape victim’s statement.
“I don’t know what the truth is… The home minister told the cabinet he has ordered an internal inquiry into the chief minister’s complaint.”
The government appealed to people to observe restraint and patience amid contradictory reports about the causes that led to the death of a policeman following the violent protests Sunday.
“An investigation is underway. Everybody needs to be patient,” cabinet minister Manish Tewari said.
While Delhi Police said that 47-year-old constable Subhash Chand Tomar was beaten up near India Gate, the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital said Tomar had “no major external injury marks”.
“He had already suffered a cardiac arrest and had almost no pulse. We revived him and shifted him to ICU,” hospital chief T.S. Sidhu said.
Yogendra, a young man who claimed he saw the policeman fall, said Tomar collapsed while chasing the protesters on a street leading to India Gate.
“He wasn’t assaulted or trampled,” he told television news channels. “He fell on his own while chasing the crowd. In fact many protesters came to help him.”
The policeman was cremated Tuesday with state honours.
Police arrested eight people Sunday night for the alleged attack on Tomar but were granted bail the next day.
