Stricter laws for rape, crimes against women already in place: Centre's reply to Mamata's second letter

**Central Minister Urges West Bengal to Implement Stricter Rape Laws**On Friday, the Centre notified the West Bengal government that strict laws and severe penalties for rape and crimes against women are already established, urging the state to enforce them "in letter and spirit."

In a letter addressed to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Union Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi pointed out that the state government had yet to activate 11 additional Fast Track Special Courts (FTSC) designated to handle rape and POCSO cases.

This comes in light of the alarming backlog of 48,600 rape and POCSO cases currently pending in West Bengal.

Devi noted, "Despite the critical situation, the state has not activated these additional FTSCs, which could be either exclusive POCSO courts or combined FTSCs addressing both categories of cases as per the state's requirements." A copy of her letter was shared on her account on the social media platform X.

Earlier the same day, Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the second time, reiterating her demand for stringent central legislation and severe penalties for heinous crimes, including rape and murder. This letter followed widespread outrage over the tragic rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, prompting Banerjee to call for mandatory time-bound disposal of such cases.

In her correspondence, Devi pointed out that while the West Bengal government has set up 88 Fast Track Courts (FTCs), these differ from the FTSCs established under the central government's scheme. She emphasised that FTCs are designed to handle a variety of case types—including civil disputes and cases involving vulnerable populations—but do not specifically address the urgent need for handling rape and murder cases.

"As of June 30 this year, a total of 81,141 cases were pending in these FTCs," Devi stated, adding that the information provided by Banerjee appears to misrepresent the situation and may serve to obscure delays in activating FTSCs within the state.