Delhi Police to DCW: Depute own staff

The city police has told the Delhi Commission of Women to depute its own research staff for interaction with its team of officials for compilation of data on women’s safety in the national capital. The police said that the DCW should also come up with recommendations for betterment of the society at large and women, in particular, in the city.

In response to a series of DCW letters on sharing data on women’s safety, the police told the commission’s chairperson, Ms Swati Maliwal, that she should be assured of its full cooperation and commitment to work to ensure greater safety and protection of women.

In his letter to the DCW chief, the deputy commissioner of police (legal cell) said: “You may kindly depute researcher staff as discussed to interact with a team of officials of the Delhi police to compile mutually agreed upon relevant data for research purposes with an end to come up with recommendations for betterment of the society at large and women folk, in particular.”

Ms Maliwal, in her letters, had said that it appeared that the Delhi police instead of cooperating with the statutory endeavour of the commission, had refused to share crucial data on crimes against women. She had even threatened exercise her powers as a statutory court and issue arrest warrants against the police chief on the issue.

“The commission is performing its duties under the Act and needs to obtain information from the Delhi police. The commission has been requesting for assistance and support in the larger interest of women’s safety in Delhi for the past six months.”

Ms Maliwal had told the police that only 146 convictions had happened in crimes against women in 2012, but the number fell to only nine convictions in 2014. She had requested the police to provide her information on cases where the accused had not been convicted. She had said that the information sought by her was extremely crucial for fulfilling the mandate of the DCW to investigate and examine all matters related to the safeguards provided to women under the Constitution.