A former Chief Justice of India will constitute the commission of enquiry which will go into gang rape of 23 year old girl in a moving bus in Delhi on Sunday last. It will also look into the lapses by Police and the measures that need to be taken to ensure the safety of women in Delhi and other parts of the country.
The government has also set up a three member committee to examine the possibility of enhancing the punishment in rape cases. The members are former Chief Justice of India, J. S. Verma, Justice Lalita Seth and former Solicitor General, Gopal Subramaniam.
This was disclosed by Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Mr. Dharmenda Kumar at a Press Conference in New Delhi this evening. He said A Senior High Court Lawyer will be a special prosecutor to ensure that the trial is finished in short time.
Appealing for peace the Special Commissioner blamed hooligans for the violence during the protest saying unruly elements hijacked peaceful demonstrations.
Meanwhile, protests continued in the city at India Gate and Jantar Mantar. The police had to resort to water cannons, tear gas shells and lathi charge to disperse the mob trying to breach the barricades to march towards Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Earlier, a delegation of protesters had a meeting with the Congress President Sonia Gandhi, which was also attended by the Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi and Minister of State for Home Affairs, R. P.N Singh.
Later Mr. Singh told reporters that government has heard the voices of the students and it will consider amendment in the law for more stringent punishment in rarest of rare cases of sexual assault.
Mr. Singh said center will try to fast track the case and make sure maximum punishment to the culprits of the gang rape.
Mr. Singh also appealed to the people who are protesting against the rape incident to maintain peace. The delegation members said that Ms Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have assured fast and tough action in the incident.
They also appealed the protesters to maintain calm. BJP leader Sushma Swaraj called for an all-party meeting and made an appeal to youths not to resort to violence, saying this is not the solution.
In another development, Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs. Shiela Dikshit along with her cabinet colleagues met the Home Minister, Mr. Sushil Kumar Shinde and expressed dissatisfaction over the handling of the situation by the police.
She said that the responsibility must be fixed at the highest level and senior officers should be held accountable.
Eight metro stations near India Gate and Raisina Hills are closed till further orders as part of police preparations to contain the agitation.
Prohibitory orders are in force in New Delhi district. Doctors at Safdarjung hospital said today that the condition of victim continuously to be critical.
