Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured the Rajya Sabha that the Government will take all effective steps to ensure safety of women and children and asked states not to allow web based taxi services. He was replying to clarifications sought by members on his Suo Motu statement on the incident of the sexual assault on a 26-year old woman in Delhi on 5th of this month.
Stating that the Government is firm on regulating taxi services, Mr Singh advised states to prohibit all such taxi services till they get registered with the state authorities.
Giving details of the steps that the government has taken to curb crime against women, the Home Minister said the number of Police Control Room Vans and CCTV cameras have been increased. The minimum required time for responding to distress calls has also been reduced to ten minutes.
255 sensitive locations prone to crime against women including roads and parks in Delhi have been identified. He said over 14 thousand girls in the national capital have been given a fortnight-long self defence training.
Earlier, the Minister said that an FIR was registered against the accused taxi driver soon after the assault was reported to Delhi Police and special police teams arrested him from Mathura.
Mr Singh also informed that the driver has been remanded to three day police custody by a Delhi court.
The Minister further informed that the Delhi police is exploring the possible legal liabilities of the Uber taxi service.
The operations of the Taxi service have been banned in Delhi after the incident.