*Casual approach despite financial help offer from GoI
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Jan 23: Though crime against women has become an issue of utmost importance for every State of the country, the Jammu and Kashmir is not showing any interest in ensuring proactive policing and expeditious investigations into such offences. This can be gauged from the fate of the directives issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in the month of January last year.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that since crime against women has assumed alarming proportion in the country, the Union Government in the month of December 2014 found it imperative to initiate such steps, which will leave no room for those committing crime against the fairer sex to go unpunished. Accordingly, the Union Home Minister vide DO letter dated December 31, 2014 dashed a communication to all the State Governments including Jammu and Kashmir to set-up Investigative Units for Crimes Against Women (IUCAW).
Of the 150 police districts proposed for setting up of IUCAWs, the Union Government approved such units in five districts of Jammu and Kashmir and mentioned explicitly that it (MHA) would provide 50% of the cost to be incurred on establishing such units. The State was asked to identify five districts, where the incidents of crime against women are higher in comparison to other districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Thereafter on January 5, 2015, the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs dashed another communication to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary and Director General of Police reminding them of urgency to establish such Investigative Units. However, during the past over one year not even one Investigative Unit for Crime Against Women has been established despite the fact that heinous crime like rape, dowry death and human trafficking against women continued to remain an issue of serious concern even in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said.
“Though several meetings were held in the Home Department and the Police Headquarters since the issuance of directives by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to discuss the issue of establishing five IUCAWs but the same yielded no positive outcome as a result of which implementing directions of the MHA remains a distant dream”, sources further said.
Several senior police officers of J&K, when contacted by EXCELSIOR to ascertain the hurdles in establishment of IUCAWs, tried to put ball in the court of each others. “A final decision in this regard is to be taken by the Home Department and we are awaiting orders for establishment of such units”, a senior officer said on the condition of anonymity.
Expressing concern over casual approach towards establishing IUCAWs, sources said, “there is no justification behind delaying decision as such units would be of immense help in assisting the local police in investigation of heinous crime against women”, adding “moreover, such units would also provide additional functionalities of proactive policing, intelligence gathering, tacking organized crime, monitoring proper implementation of the legislative provisions and help in awareness generation”.
Stating that no big financial implication is involved in adhering to the directives of the Ministry of Home Affairs, sources said, “the Ministry has already assured 50% assistance”, adding “since the salary component of each IUCAW has been calculated as Rs 56 lakh (approximately) per year and Union Government will provide 50% of the cost—Rs 28 lakh per year, the State is required to provide only Rs 28 lakh per year in respect of each IUCAW”.
“Moreover, the State have the full flexibility on whether to create new posts or to designate from the existing strength with only condition being 1/3rd should be women only”, sources said, adding “the issue of 1/3rd women personnel is being stressed to improve dismal gender ratio in the police leading to impediments in effective implementation of the legislations”.
As per the structure proposed by the MHA for each Investigative Unit for Crime Against Women, there is requirement of one Additional Superintendent of Police, two Deputy Superintendents of Police, four Inspectors, four Sub-Inspectors and some Constables.
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