Kerala to set up public sex offender's registry

Governor was delivering policy address on the opening say of budget session It is not clear whether the list will contain names of accused or convicts Kerala has started women battalion of police this year

In an unprecedented move, Kerala government has decided to maintain a registry of sex offenders. Governor P Sathasivam, while delivering the policy address on the opening day of budget session in Kerala Assembly said the move aims to ensure the safety of women. “To ensure deterrence, my government will set up a sex offenders’ registry, which will maintain all identification details of sex offenders. It will be kept in the public domain,” he said. 

The list will be the first of its kind in the country. However, it is not clear whether the list will contain names of accused or convicts. 

The Governor also said that a special department to ensure the safety of women and a comprehensive victim relief fund would be formed. Sathasivam also announced a slew of measures to ensure the security of women including all-women police stations at taluk levels.

Kerala government has already started an all women battalion of police this year and is committed to increasing the number of female officers in the force to 15%. The government also believes that the number should be increased to 50%," he said.

The announcement came a week after Kerala condemned the abduction and sexual assault of a popular actress. The actress, who was on her way to Kochi from Thrissur on February 17, was abducted and assaulted by a group of men. She complained to police that the men abused her and took her photos with the intention to blackmail her. 

Police identified seven accused and arrested six of them, including Pulsar Sunil and Vijeesh.