NEW DELHI: Concerned over the worsening security situation for women in the Capital, especially after the sensational case of criminal assault of a 22-year-old woman in a moving car on Wednesday, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has decided to draw up an action plan with the Delhi Government and the Lieutenant-Governor to make the city safer within three months.

"If the police had sent adequate number of vans when the complaint was made, the crime could have been prevented. A police van was sent in response to the complaint, which kept searching in vain for the car in which the woman was abducted. More vans were sent, but only later," the chairperson of NCW, Girja Vyas, said at a press conference here on Thursday.

Criticising the police for not meeting all the demands put forward following the Dhaula Kuan rape case, Ms. Vyas said: "Certain demands are yet to be met. They have set up `mahila desks' at every police station, but we had asked for more security in slum clusters as the incidents of crime are more in this area. The drive against cars with tinted glasses, which was launched earlier is still unsuccessful.''

The police, she added, needed to be more sensitive. Apart from taking quick action against erring police officers, it was important to proceed immediately against culprits who had been named and finish all the formality within 21 days, the Chairperson stated.

"The victims should be rehabilitated immediately. They should also be given compensation. We have got letters from girls who were criminally assaulted when they were young. They have no future and no money to study. The law also needs to be reviewed. The definition of the law needs to be changed,'' she said.

Pointing out the need to provide proper sanitation facilities for women in slum clusters, Ms. Vyas said: "It is essential to provide women proper sanitation facilities otherwise they have no option to go anywhere but behind the bushes or the railway tracks in the early hours of the morning. The action plan will address this issue of sanitation.''

The NCW has sought a report from the Police Commissioner, K.K. Paul, within three days.

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