Srinagar, May 20 -- : The National Commission for Women (NCW) has written to the home ministry for a nod to establish its offices in all the union territories of the country, chairperson Vijaya K Rahatkar said on Tuesday. The NCW is in Srinagar as part of its 'Jan Sunwai(public hearings)' programme in Kashmir valley to provide a direct platform for women of Srinagar District to voice their concerns and seek resolution of issues related to their rights, welfare and safety. "We have recently sent a proposal to the home ministry to open offices in every UT but for that home ministry's permission is needed. We have sought the permission and are waiting for that," Rahatkar said in response to a question by mediapersons. She said that NCW looks after the issues of women in the Union Territories while state commissions function in various states. "NCW will be looking for matters here. This is correct, if there is a commission for women (in a UT) it helps a lot. Right now all UTs fall under the National Commission for Women," she said. Rahatkar said that they had come here after receiving 14 complaints from Kashmir. "We have come with those complaints here. In the public hearings, apart from the commission, the officials, police or administration also sit and immediately we solve the issues of those women," she said, informing that they have been here for the past four days. "There were some walk-in complaints as well which will be heard as well," she said. She assured the 'sisters of J&K' that NWC was giving due attention here. "We will continue coming here if women face issues," she said. "We will also meet the chief secretary and DGP and will get updates on other districts as well. We will see those cases as well," she informed. Rahatkar said that Jan Sunwai has become an excellent way of addressing issues of women effectively and they handled 25000 cases in a week on International Women's Day. "The NWC keeps holding these public hearings across the country. Recently on the occasion of international day of women, we, along with the state commissions, handled 25000 cases in around a week. Out of those 15000 have been solved and 10,000 cases are ongoing and I hope within a month half of those cases are solved. This is a good use of public hearings,' she said. The chairperson of NCW said that the commission has taken suo motu cognisance of Jodhpur suicide case of two women. "It is a very serious case and we have taken suo motu cognisance of the case. We will see how the police are working on this. We have informed police to work on the case, have given them time and are waiting for a report from police," Rahatkar said. According to media reports, the younger sister, a married woman and mother of two, died on Friday after allegedly consuming pesticide atop a water tank due to the lack of police action against the eight people accused of sexually assaulting and blackmailing her and her elder sister. "When we take a suo motu cognisance, we have to give them a 4-5 day time period. We will wait for that time and see what things emerge from that," the chairperson said when asked about the allegations of sexual assault. In a post on X, the National Commission for Women said that it has taken suo motu cognisance of "extremely serious media reports regarding the alleged prolonged gang rape, blackmail, sexual exploitation, and subsequent suicides of two sisters in Jodhpur, Rajasthan." Vijaya Rahatkar has written a letter to the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, Rajasthan, directing them to ensure immediate, impartial, and time-bound action in the matter. The Commission has asked for a detailed Action Taken Report (ATR) to be submitted within seven days. The Commission has sought details on the provisions invoked in the FIR, arrest of all accused, current status of the investigation, digital and forensic evidence, alleged police inaction on prior complaints by the victim's family, and accountability of the concerned officials. Additionally, information has been sought on the legal assistance, psychological counseling, security, and rehabilitation support being provided to the victim's family, as well as steps being taken to ensure prompt action in future cases of sexual offenses and blackmail against women. The National Commission for Women, while strongly condemning this incident, has stated that such heinous crimes against women and negligence at any level will not be tolerated under any circumstances....