We asked our readers if they felt Mumbai was still safe for women, in the light of the rape of a teenager by a policeman in the busy Marine Drive area last week.

And this is what they had to say. Here are some of the posts:

Your say: Is Mumbai still safe for women?

Kaza: Mumbaikars are just human machines. Least bothered about all these. They are like ants. Even if some 100 ants die in their colony everday, they keep going. Even Mumbai is like that. In this 1.5cr ocean even if 100 murders and 100 rapes happen everyday, the city moves on. We have seen this a day after the bomb blasts.

All those Miss Worlds and Miss Universe who give larger than life remarks on womens freedom, emancipation, womens century during the contest would be busy booking for their next movies and weekend parties.

Abhijit Majumder: Even the shadiest parts of Mumbai continue to be safe for women. But with public morality being hostage to R R Patil and his ilk, it will soon be a haven for the depraved.

The neo-Taliban is tearing apart the fabric of a civilised metropolis by closing down dance bars, enforcing a sex code which stops adults from accessing adult recreation and creating a bunch of people who are out to rape in the chowkies or grope in the buses. After all, perversion breeds best where there is repression.

PS. The Mumbai police or the state government has repeatedly failed to prove that the incidence of crime increases because of a late and vibrant nightlife. However, all their claims have been to the contrary and competely unsupported by statistics. I know it as a journalist.

Rupal: This particular incident has sent shock waves in the minds of public. People used to rely so much on khaki clad policemen for justice but now with this incident all will be hesitant to approach them. The only solution to the incident of rape more common in Mumbai is that the entire film and modelling fraternity should be banned as these are the only people who have created the image of women as sex commodity and nothing else. These so called high society people are only the ones who always wear skimpily clad outfits and pose around in highly negligible outfits creating media attention. They have no problem to this as they move around in their cars and have no reason to travel by public transport or walk on streets, they should be made to do what a common women faces in her daily routine and then they will realise the torture of rape and the negative extent to which they are exposing themselves.

Please enforce strict rules to curb all these incidents and who so ever it is even a policeman should be made to pay for his misdeeds and proper justice should be given to the victim so that in future anybody doing this deadly crime will think thousand times before doing it.

HELP!!!!!!

KANNAN: It is true taht a constable raped a minor girl In daylight at marine drive ,Mumbai. I can say it is still safer than any other metros in India. This is a very rare case and definetely serious to look into, but all over India , this typoe of crimes or goig on each & every day...

But the culprit to be punished severely.. and others a lesson and govt. should take appropriate action..

Molina P. Thakur: I think it would be wrong to flatly say that no Mumbai is not safe for women. I think whether Mumbai or any other city, any place is safe for a women, if a women decides to become like a Durga and not simple Sita Maiya. A women is expected to know her rights first as a citizen and then as a women. If she is made aware about it, as well as implementing her rights, she can be safe. I think, now every women, is expected to know some tactics of self defending herself. In the olden days, a girl was required to know the basics of leading normal and smooth like stitching, cooking, remaining courteous with everybody. But now I think in addition to all these, she should also know, some acts or defences, by which she can avoid the occurence of any unnatural event on her.

I think every women should be also educated and informed some knowledge of karates, judo, and some other education, by which she can atleast save herself.

There should be special seminars or lectures conducted in schools and colleges, where a woman is made vigilant about it.

I think nothing is impossible, though it may be difficult to implement, I think there should be atleast a try made.

Sam: Sunil More alone is not responsible, he is known to be sure of getting away from any crime he has committed and any more he commits.The Police department is to be blamed since it allows the dishonest police personnel to continue taking advantage of the 'unprotected' whereas honest policemen are penalised and dismissed without a memo.It is high time the cops stop protecting their cult of wicked personnel and abide by the LAW.

Punita Khanna: Yes, i am quite confident that Mumbai is definitely a safer place for the women.

Mumbai women are comparitively bolder and dynamic than women in any other part of the country and that is why the men in Mumbai do not dare to harass Mumbai women.And that is what makes Mumbai a comparitively a safer place. This situation ofcourse is subject to certain exceptions and incidences like this keep on cropping up at intervals.

As far as other parts of the country are concerned, men do not fear women for the simple reason that women there are scared, timid and suppressive in nature and give up on things even before initiating them and that is why men do not hesitate in committing any crime against them as men are confident that the victim will not retaliate or raise a voice against the crime inflicted upon her.

Any such incident happening in Mumbai is an exception and one cannot generalise the exception and termMumbai as unsafe for women.

Jayaman.V: Ofcourse yes the incident which took place in Marinedrive is stimulating such questions from few segments of people, but I would say that this is not measuring scale to check security of females. There are rape incidents in almost all parts of the country's cities by people who are not supposed to commit such crimes. Only thing is the present incident in MDrive has come to light other don't. It is better to discuss the way to hunt such kind of criminals and come out with ways to root out such animals in the form of human from the department, then to discuss wheather it is safe for women to live or not. It is not going to solve any purpose. Who is going to be gained by making discussion if it is safe or not. Kindly come out with productive discussion and bring out some kind of renaissence, for a better tomorrow. Thankyou.

Kksharma: I live in Singapore , where there is zero Crime. What is wrong with India, India can have many things, but why not Law and Order, How dare that Rapist challenge,  Can you put that Rapist in a Cage and show to the Indians to Grow Up. India Needs Law and Order atleast for a full generation and Not DEMOCRACY

Beena: It really annoying to know that the city that never sleeps doesn't have proper security for city.Its a shame to the entire nation that a policeman who takes an oath to respect every rights and duty laid down by the govt. of India,today on daylight attempts rape.Secondly, its a shame also to general public who did nothing but watched the show.I would question to all the womens assosiation that are they still ideal and ignored this case or are they scared if they would be put in jail.When today we are having great lady police officers like Kiran Bedi [Images], I would like to even question her that it is said only a women understands a womens feeling.
At one point where we are proud that women are not only working till late nite but also they handle their family faithfully.Then why isn't any consideration given to what achievements are made by them and what respect they should get in the society.
Today a hopeless political leader who when roans about in his ammassador had atleast 10 body guards, then why can't such security be provided to the nation.

Percy: Till this brazen incident, one felt that Mumbai was indeed safe.

But an upholder of the law committing a horrendous crime like this leaves the people nowhere to get justice or even prevent a re-occurence.

In a proven case like this with eye-witnesses, the cop should be officially 'Bobbited' to serve an exmple to all such perverts. Let him remember forever, that if he has ruined somones life, he also cannot get away scott free to maybe repeat it again.

CHANGE THE LAWS IF YOU WANT DETERRENTS. When the laws were made, prnographic videos, CDs and the Internet was not easily available to corrupt the minds of such fiends. These are the main culprits.

Ministers showing sympathy and announcing 'strictest' punishment is only an immediate measure to placate public ire. If they really mean it, let them publish from time to time basis what steps are being taken to 'severely punish' the errant cop and what deterrent measures they would take.

A suggestion - Wireless Video Cameras with 24hrs surveillance linked to control room inside all sensitive chowkies and 1 year RI to concerned person/s if camera fails on duty. Can they do that?

Ansari: Mumbai will be safe for woman.... Only if

1) Only if there will be a periodic checkup of Alcohol consumption among the Police Officers, constables, and other officers.

2) Only if there will be increased patrolling of Policemen in the night as well as day times.

3) Only if the accused is given the death punishment in a public place, in front of public in 'Beech Chauraha' so that everyone comitting such act should think more than 1000 times.

4) Only if there is patrolling squad at the places like Bandstand, Marine Drive, National park and other public places for couples or other citizens. Ofcourse the citizen should not do obsecne act in thses places.

Pradnesh: Till now whatever incidents happened in past, no strict action was taken by LAW against them bcoz of which others dare to repeat again. One strict punishment will atleast reduce this type of incidents. In such cases the criminal should be punished in public places & in front of huge crowd. No soft feelings or liberty should be given to criminals.This incident is something which is beyond killing anybody, you are only physical alive. People talk about Women liberation, where do they go when such incidents take place. Also,another reason is illiteracy & lack of sex education. If i would have been the judge,i would hang Sunil More till death in front of the Marine Drive Police Chowky & see to it that nobody from his family gets employement anywhere, let his family also suffer.

Purva Puri:  In my opinion Mumbai has lost its old age charm of being the ultimate safe place for working women.
This incident has proved it again that women cannot be safe anywhere at any time.
Girls should realise this and develop a awareness and be more cautious by learning a little bit of self defence and not talking to strangers always being in a group and keeping a small handy weapon which can be used at such times.I have lived in Mumbai all my life and have travelled at midnight in trains but never felt insecured but now with people coming from different cities in search of work you really can't trust anybody.So its better to be careful about what you are doing and what you wear , where are you going keep your parents informed about your whereabouts.
I think it is a big shame for a real Mumbaikar.....


A Proud Mumbaikar: Yes, My MUMBAI is the safest city in India. Incidents like this cannot change the fact that my MUMBAI IS SAFE & BEAUTIFUL. I also feel that there is no need to blame the complete MUMBAI POLICE DEPARTMENT for this thing. The only thing required today is to STOP MIGRATION of peoples in MUMBAI.

Those who feel MUMBAI is not safe, pls.go to your own states......we will be happy over here in our MUMBAI. Its very easy to talk about MUMBAI POLICE while sitting in A/C offices,cars & A/C T.V.Channels but its very difficult to do a job restlessly for 48-72 hours, which 90% of my MUMBAI POLICE is doing. Hence pls.dont blame the complete department. No doubt, that the constable sunil more should be punished hard.

Subbu: I think Bombay is safe as it was never unsafe. There are a few sporadic instances which alone cannot decide the safety. Yes, it is prudent to be on the guard anywhere in the World. The worrying factor is the dwindling size of the clothes on the girls which most of the times is provoking.

A city of this size with so many single men living without their families and someone like Mr. More who already has three wives and the last one at Sangli or Satara for delivery will naturally get carried away and indulge in such a henious act.

As much as we blame the likes of Mr. More, the parents of children should certainly keep a watch on what your child is wearing and what are the habits of the child etc., etc., I am not certainly defending Mr. More, but would like to advocate the old saying "prevention is better than cure".

Siddhi: I was shocked when i heard abt the news..i think that the city Mumbai is still, very unsafe for the gals.

Their are 2 ways to control this crime a law should be pass that the person raping a gal / woman of any age should be hang till death...or else the gals who has no option other then to travel late in nights from their work should go for the self defence classes...& the foundation's like (mahila mukti bla bla ) who raise their voice every after a bloody incident happen should try to take an extra step to open such classes..which in turn will help the gals to fight with the incident.

I been an Mumbaian request the mumbai city people to be alert & watching such kind of incident some where around should also take some strict action by banging the suspect in order to survive someones life. cause, now we can't even trust our police..

Thanx rediff.com for giving us an platform in raising civilian's voice which are their rights to do so

so people come ahead & lets fight against the war & clean our city which will be safe for the every person who calls Mumbai their home.

Your say: Is Mumbai still safe for women?