While addressing the concluding session of the 29th meeting of the Southern Zonal Council in Tirupati, Union Minister Amit Shah implored participating states to ensure that a zero-tolerance policy towards crime against children is adhered to. He also encouraged them to stick to the 60-day timeframe to conclude probes and trials in cases that are registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The Minister of Home Affairs, who was on a three-day trip to Andhra Pradesh, also wanted the states to create an independent institution of the Director of Prosecution to expedite prosecutions.
“Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative, a National Forensic Science University and a Rashtriya Raksha University have been established. All states should establish at least one forensic science college with the syllabus in the local language so that they can have trained manpower to meet the needs of forensic investigation,’’ he said.
Highlighting the fact that 111 crore OVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the country, the union minister said that it was an example of cooperative federalism and assured that the centre would do everything possible to cover all States under the vaccination programme. Many other matters were also discussed.
The meeting, chaired by Shah, was attended by the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Puducherry, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Basavaraj S Bommai and N Rangaswamy, respectively. Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Higher Education K Ponmudy, Kerala’s Revenue Minister K Rajan and Finance Minister KN Balagopal, Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry Tamilasai Soundarajan, Lakshadweep Administrator Praful K Patel and Andaman and Nicobar Islands' Lieutenant-Governor Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi were also present.
