New Delhi, Jan 1 (IANS) The central government has set up a task force headed by the union home secretary to look into the safety of women in Delhi and to review the functioning of Delhi Police, an official release said Tuesday.

The task force has been set after the assurance given by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to parliament last month following an uproar over the brutal gang-rape of a young woman in a moving bus in the capital Dec 16. The woman died in a Singapore hospital last week.

The task force will also consider suggestions by members of parliament made during the debate on the issue of women's safety in the winter session of parliament and continuously review actions taken by Delhi Police and the Delhi government.

The release said that the task force will include the chief secretary of Delhi, the Delhi Police commissioner, special commissioner police (traffic) and special commissioner police (law and order).

It will also include the chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women, the chairperson of New Delhi Municipal Council, the transport commissioner and other government officials.

The government has already instituted a commission of inquiry to probe the Dec 16 gang-rape and any police lapses and suggest ways to make the city safer for women.

It has also set up a panel headed by Justice (retd) J.S. Verma, former chief justice of India, to review the existing laws to provide for speedier justice and enhanced punishment in cases of aggravated sexual assault against women.