At a time when there is a nationwide anger against crimes against women and Delhi Women's Commission chief Swati Maliwal continues to be on a hunger strike demanding stricter laws to deal with rape cases, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G. Kishan Reddy told Parliament there had been a 7.7 per cent decline in heinous crimes in the national capital.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Reddy said he drew the percentage in heinous crimes during this year after a comparison with the last year.

According to the Delhi Police, the heinous crimes registered during 2019 (up to November 15) are 4,628 against 5,014 during the same period in 2018.

The Minister said the Delhi Police had taken a number of steps to prevent and expeditiously detect crimes in the NCT of Delhi.

He cited action against organised crime, arrest or surveillance of notorious criminals, joint group patrolling vulnerable areas and deployment of Police Control Room (PCR) vans as well as Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) to enhance the police visibility as measures to deal with the heinous crimes in Delhi.

Enhanced focus on beat policing, re-organisation of beats, and citizen-centric policing through 'Jan Sampark' and other community programmes had helped in achieving the decline in heinous crimes, said the Minister.IANS