Cry for effective, stronger anti-rape laws gets louder

As the gang rape victim battles for life in a Singapore hospital, thousands of protesters marched towards India Gate on Thursday demanding more safety for women in the capital and a faster and more effective legal process for cases of sexual assault.

The protesters, mostly students and women, also demanded that Delhi police chief Neeraj Kumar be sacked, an estimated one lakh rape trials pending in the country be taken up by fast-track courts and special session of Parliament for enacting strong laws against sexual offences.

The protesters marched from Nizamuddin in south Delhi to India Gate but were stopped at the Zakir Hussain — Subramania Bharti Marg crossing, near India Gate, leading to traffic blockade. The police  announced that they would not be allowed to move ahead to India Gate due to prohibitory orders.

Raising slogans of ‘Halla Bol’, the protesters raised slogans against the Centre and also demanded the resignation of Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

President Pranab Mukherjee’s son and MP Abhijit Mukherjee’s remarks about ‘dented painted’ women became a subject of ridicule at a citizen’s march on Thursday. “Dented painted is a word you use for cars, not for human beings. What better indication of how women are disrespected and equated with inanimate objects,” said Annie Raja, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), the women’s wing of the CPI.