New Delhi: The Centre and the West Bengal government have entered into a heated exchange following the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata. The central government on Monday asserted that Bengal has been allocated 123 fast-track courts to hear cases of rape and child cases, but many of them are not functional yet.
Following the brutal rape and murder, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to implement a stringent law against rapists, highlighting the alarming figures of 90 rape cases reported daily across India.
In a swift response, Union Minister Annuparna Devi, responsible for Women and Child Development, highlighted that the Centre has already allocated 123 fast-track courts to West Bengal, including 20 dedicated POCSO courts. However, she pointed out that as of June 2024, only six POCSO courts are operational, despite a backlog of 48,600 rape and POCSO cases in the state.
“As of 30.06.2024, 752 FTSCs including 409 exclusive POCSO Courts are functional in 30 States / UTs which have disposed of more than 2,53,000 cases since the inception of scheme. Under the scheme, the State of West Bengal was allocated a total of 123 FTSCs, which included 20 exclusive POCSO Courts and 103 combined FTSCs dealing with both rape and POCSO Act cases. However, none of these courts had been operationalized till mid-June, 2023,” Annuparna mentioned in the letter.
Devi also criticised the West Bengal government for failing to implement the national women’s helpline, 181, which offers immediate support to women and children in distress. “Recognizing the need for Helplines as first responders in the golden hour to a woman or child in distress, Women Helpline (WHL) 181, Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) -112, Child Helpline 1098, Cyber Crime Helpline – 1930 have been put in place in the last few years. The WHL and Child Helplines have been integrated with ERSS also. But, unfortunately the people of the State of West Bengal cannot utilize this facility as the State Government has not implemented the WHL despite many requests and reminders from Gol,” the letter reads further.
Earlier, Banerjee in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi Banerjee had advocated for the establishment of fast-track courts to expedite justice, proposing trials to be completed within 15 days. “It is horrifying to see this trend. It shakes the confidence and conscience of society and the nation. It is our bounden duty to put an end to it so that women feel safe and secure. Such a serious and sensitive issue needs to be addressed comprehensively through stringent central legislation that prescribes exemplary punishment for those involved in these dastardly crimes,” she wrote in her letter adding “to ensure quick justice, trials should preferably be completed within 15 days”.
Pointing towards the “failure” of the Mamata-led government in West Bengal, Annuparna asserted that the laws framed by the Centre are enough to handle the crimes against women adding theta the West Bengal government should implement the same on ground for the women’s safety. “However, you would agree that effective implementation of these provisions of law as well as various initiatives of the Central Government for women’s safety falls in the ambit of the State Government. It is imperative that the State machinery is fully sensitised and geared up to take fullest advantage of the legal and schematic provisions made by the Central Government for ensuring safety and security of women and girls in the State of West Bengal,” she said.
“I sincerely hope and trust that the Government of West Bengal will strive towards eliminating all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls by creating a safe and secure ecosystem and gender equal society for them to grow and prosper,” the minister added.