'Goonda Act against sexual offenders'

Bengaluru, Feb 8: Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said the government would book sexual offenders sexually assaulting women and children under the Goonda Act.

Replying to JD(S) MLA K Gopalaiah in the Assembly, he said cases under the Karnataka Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug-Offenders, Gamblers, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders and Slum-Grabbers Act, popularly called the Goonda Act, will booked and stringent action will be taken against them.

He also said a police patrol vehicle, Abhaya, will be launched exclusively to ensure safety of women and children. As many as 303 cases of assault on women, 1,423 cases of atrocities, 923 cases of sexual abuse and 255 cases of chain snatching related to women were reported in Bengaluru last year.

Parameshwara said reservation for women in the police department has been increased to 20% from 5% and a separate women's battalion in KSRP would be established.

He told the House that Bengaluru city would get another 500 CCTV cameras. The Minister said the government has already initiated steps to dismiss an assistant sub-inspector who is charged with raping a mentally challenged woman in Tumakuru recently.

He said the government has handed over a case pertaining to the lockup death of a truck driver in Laksmeshwar in Gadag district to the CID.

CID DIG visits Lakshmeshwar

Sonia Narang, the DIG?of the CID, on Tuesday visited Lakshmeshwar, Gadag district, in connection with the investigation into the death of a lorry driver in police custody.

The officer gathered information about the case from lorry driver Halesh Bhandari and others. She also questioned those transporting sand.

She later visited the nearby Battur village and collected details from the relatives

of the deceased youth.