New Delhi

A slur on the face of Capital

Staff Reporter

Women remain unsafe as ever on Delhi roads

NEW DELHI: The abduction-cum-rape of a woman in a moving car by four unidentified men at Mayapuri in South-West Delhi on Wednesday is a grim reminder of the fact that the Capital's roads remain unsafe as ever for women at night.

Despite the police claims of having intensified night patrolling, the vehicle in which the woman was abducted did not come across any police barricade or checkpoint in the early hours of Wednesday. Even the Police Control Room (PCR) vans on night patrol in the area could not trace the car and the perpetrators assaulted the victim without any fear of being caught.

Similarly on May 8, a young college student was abducted from Dhaula Kuan in a Santro car and criminally assaulted by four men in the moving vehicle. While the police claim to have arrested one of the culprits in the case, they have failed to identify the other accused.

In the wake of the incident, the Police Commissioner, K.K. Paul, had re-launched the special drive code-named "Operation Black Rose" to check the preparedness and reaction time of the police to such incidents. However, these exercises have only been a source of harassment for motorists returning home at night.

The most sensational case was that of a Swiss diplomat in October 2003. She was abducted from Siri Fort Auditorium by two young men in her own Toyota Qualis and criminally assaulted by one of them in the moving vehicle.

The victim returned to her country soon after the incident and the police have made no headway in the case so far.

In July 2002, another college student was dragged inside a vehicle by some men on the North Campus and dumped at Kamla Nagar after being criminally assaulted.

While the police claim that nothing much can be done about such incidents, all the talk about strict checking of vehicles on the city roads has proved hollow.

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