JH rape: HM says awareness, surveillance will be increased to curb crimes

Hyderabad: With the gangrape of the 17-year-old garnering widespread attention towards the law and order in the state, home minister Mohammed Ali on Thursday convened a meeting with senior officials and detailed an array of steps to curb such crimes.

In a meeting with principal secretary (home) Ravi Gupta, DGP M. Mahinder Reddy and other senior officials at his residence, Ali discussed the increase in heinous crimes against minors and women.

Ali said, “Hyderabad has a brand image for safety and security of women and in maintaining excellent law and order by the state police.”

He said that necessary steps will be taken by the police to curb such incidents.

An increase in surveillance and implementation of certain sections of the law under the City Police Act will be undertaken in all police commissionerates, he said.

The home minister also said that pubs and bars are run on licences obtained from the excise department and that the role of the police is negligible in the process.

However, he said that there will be a joint meeting of police and excise department officials to ensure that there is no conflict of law while enforcing restrictions or curbing violations.

Besides, he said that the women’s safety wing and She teams will conduct large-scale awareness programmes, via social media platforms, for parents through the management of educational institutions and schools. This is to ensure that they have a complete handle on their wards’ activities and can safeguard them from being trapped, abused or misguided.

The women’s safety wing will also conduct meetings with the officials of the women's welfare and child development department and take all viable and possible measures for the prevention of abuse, he said.

All commissioners from three commissionerates and other senior police officials attended the meeting.