-PTI Four vagabond children, who were victims of trafficking, drug abuse and shocking sexual exploitation and violence, narrated their tales to J S Verma committee alleging that police personnel used to extort money and even indulge in sexual exploitation of women. The committee has annexed their interview in the report in which the children, whose names have been withheld, claimed that they saw police personnel of a Police Control Room van taking...

-Tehelka Edited Excerpts From An Interview NOTED ECONOMIST and Columbia University Professor Jagdish Bhagwati’s pro-free trade stance is well-known. A friend of the prime minister and his batch mate from Cambridge University, Professor Bhagwati feels the UPA’s departure from the stagnation of the past few years is a welcome change, and lauds the decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail. In an interview to TEHELKA Business Editor Shaili Chopra, Bhagwati says more...

-Outlook A PIL today urged the Bombay High Court to direct the Maharashtra Government to implement effectively the Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act and Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act. Though the Acts were enacted long back, they were not being implemented, the PIL, filed by Advocate Rajendra Ambhule said. No special homes for children have been set up in every district of Maharashtra as per section 9 of...

-The Indian Express The juvenile justice system should aim to reform, rather than punish, offenders The anguish and anger evoked by the sheer brutality of the gangrape in Delhi has led to the demand that the accused be subject to the most severe punishment. Voices have been raised seeking the death penalty and chemical or physical castration. As one of the accused is below 18 years of age and cannot be “punished”...

-Economic and Political Weekly The vigorous public discourse following the recent brutal gang rape and mutilation of the 23-year-old in Delhi is a positive sign but hopefully the demand for quick solutions will not ignore the complexities involved in dealing with all forms of violence against women. There are also other connected issues that require urgent attention including the description of a rape as a "state worse than death", making out...