Stricter rules to ensure safety of passengers on public transport: Pune police chief

PUNE Amitabh Gupta, Pune commissioner of police, said stricter rules for the safety of passengers will be implemented on all modes of public transport in the city

PUNE Amitabh Gupta, Pune commissioner of police, said stricter rules for the safety of passengers will be implemented on all modes of public transport in the city. Gupta announced this on Wednesday in the light of a case of gang-rape of a 14-year-old girl, which has not gained much traction in political circles as well

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“We are already in the process of formulating some new rules which will make public transport providers think twice before committing such crimes in the future. I cannot reveal the specifics at this point as I believe in making a statement after implementation. Various stakeholders are being consulted and the full effect of it will be felt after the Ganapati festival is over,” said commissioner Gupta.

Regional transport officer Ajit Shinde said that he was in no position to make any comments as he had not had an interaction with the police commissioner yet.

The commissioner was asked about safety of public transport facilities after this case became the second such incident in recent months, to have been initiated from a public transport depot.

The 14-year-old girl was kidnapped by an autorickshaw driver from Pune railway station. The involvement of two workers of the Railways department has invoked quick action from the railway department, resulting in their suspension.

The girl is believed to have been sexually assaulted by 13 of the 14 arrested men. She was found travelling to Chandigarh on September 5 with a man, her friend, whom she met in Mumbai.

On August 31, she had come to the railway station to meet him, but he had not shown up at the time.

The police have formed five teams in order to gather evidence and put together a timeline of the multiple locations that she was taken to after she was kidnapped around 10pm on August 31.

All the arrested men are in police custody till September 16 – most are autorickshaw drivers who are friends of the main accused who first kidnapped her.

“He is facing charges of kidnapping as the girl is a minor and he was taking her away from her parents. As of now, he is not facing sexual assault charges,” said Commissioner Gupta.

The Pune police will also ask the state government to appoint a special public prosecutor in the case to ensure a speedy trial in the case, according to Gupta. The case will be tried in the fast track court meant for Pocso cases.

Special women’s atrocity court?

Chitra Wagh, head of the BJP’s women’s wing of Maharashtra, visited Commissioner Gupta and commended the work done by the police by arresting all the accused within two days.

“I discussed the idea of a special women’s atrocity court in order to get speedy trials for cases under Sections like 376 (sexual assault), 354 (sexual harassment/molestation), 509 (outraging modesty of a woman), and 498(a) (domestic violence) of the Indian Penal Code. Why did none of these men feel the need to stop and question themselves while handing her around?” asked Wagh, while interacting with the media after her meeting with Commissioner Gupta.