Women’s organisations took to the streets in Delhi, as the Parliament expressed shock and outrage over the barbaric gang-rape of a girl student inside a moving bus in South Delhi on Sunday night.

While members in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha demanded capital punishment to the perpetrators of such heinous crime, the Union Home Minister assured the House that the case would be fast-tracked. Law and order in the National Capital is directly under the Home Ministry.

In both Houses, women members, cutting across party lines, expressed shock and anguish over the incident, voicing concern over the safety of women in Delhi, with actor Jaya Bachchan even breaking down while speaking on the issue.

In Lok Sabha, Speaker Meira Kumar asked the Government to take strong steps immediately as an impromptu debate took place in both Houses over the incident in which the 23-year-old paramedic was raped and brutally assaulted.

Meanwhile, over 500 women belonging to the All India Democratic Women’s Association, Joint Women’s Programme, National Federation of Indian Women, Purogami Mahila Sangathana, Swastik Mahila Samiti and Young Women’s Christian Association blocked traffic near Parliament House demanding rapid, time-bound justice for the medical student and the immediate arrest of all accused.

They also sought increased patrolling and deployment of police, including police women in public places, fast-track courts to deal with rape cases, standardised investigation procedures to be given to all police stations to ensure high rates of conviction in rape cases and increased sensitisation and accountability of the police in dealing with crime against women.

> aditi.n@thehindu.co.in

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