Victims of sexual abuse can now file complaints online

New Delhi: In an attempt to check increasing incidents of crime against women, Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday launched the National Registry of Sexual Offenders and Cybercrime Reporting portal. The database will be used by law enforcement agencies for investigating crime against women. Indian has become the ninth country in the world to start such a registry of sexual offenders.

The portal will enable complainants in reporting cases without disclosing their identity. This will not only aid the victims and complainants but also help the civil society organisations and responsible citizens to anonymously report complaints pertaining to child pornography, child sexual abuse material or sexually explicit material such as rape and gang rape. Complainants can also upload the objectionable content and URL to assist in the investigation by the state police. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) will proactively identify such objectionable content and take up with intermediaries for its removal.

The National Database on Sexual Offenders will act as a Central database of sexual offenders in the country which will be maintained by the NCRB for regular monitoring and tracking by the state police. The database is accessible only to the law enforcement agencies for investigation and monitoring purpose. The database will include offenders convicted under charges of rape, gang rape, POCSO and eve-teasing. At present the database contains 4.4 lakh entries. The state police have been requested to regularly update the database from 2005 onwards. The database includes name, address, photograph and fingerprint details for each entry.

Mr Singh said the government had taken several initiatives to check crime against women and children, including provision of stringent punishment and creation of modern forensics facilities to improve investigation, creation of the women’s safety division in the MHA and launching of safe city projects for women’s safety.

He added that the two portals launched were part of efforts in the direction of strengthening security of women and children.

Minister for Women & Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi urged the law enforcement agencies to pay special attention to the safety of children at shelter homes particularly in wake of a similar incident reported from Bihar’s Muzaffarpur area. She also underlined the need for provision of forensic kits at police stations for quick investigation of sexual crimes. She also asked the police to take prompt action in cases where a husband abandons wife shortly after marriage. Meanwhile, Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba highlighted the need for timebound completion of investigation in sexual crimes to instill deterrence among potential offenders.