New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday stressed the need to put in place more institutional mechanisms to ensure the safety and security of women and children in the country.

Addressing the annual conference of top police officials here, the prime minister said: "The tragic rape and murder of a young girl in Delhi last December not only brought into sharp focus the issue of women's safety, but also the rising expectations of the people from the police in preventing such crimes."

"We have recently enacted several laws providing stringent punishment for such crimes and more sensitive treatment of victims during investigation and trial," he said.

"We also need to put in place other institutional mechanisms to ensure the safety and security of women and children. I expect the DGPs (Director General of Police) of states to show leadership in this area," he added.

On Dec 16, 2012, a 23-year-old woman was brutally gangraped in a bus by six people, including a juvenile. She died due to grave intestinal injuries Dec 29.

Four of them were given the death sentence while one committed suicide in Tihar Jail in Delhi.

The juvenile was sentenced to three years in a reform home by the Juvenile Justice Board as he was a minor at the time of committing the crime.

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