NAGPUR: The rural police, under a project to empower women and initiate village-based community service, have adopted a policy to reach out to young girls through various means. Roping in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the rural police plan to place complaint boxes in 426 girls’ school in the district and set up a mobile library.
In the backdrop of the shocking gang rape and dacoity at Kuhi last month, the rural police thought of a women’s empowerment drive through NGOs under the superintendent of police, Nagpur rural, Manoj Sharma. The initiative will include a ‘mobile library’ in villages for girls.
A team of women cops and home guards will spread the message. Additional SP rural, Prakash Jadhav said that 200 women from home guards and 50 women police constables have been hand-picked for the empowerment mission.
"The team has been trained in various tactics of self-defence at the home guard office. This trained team is presently visiting city colleges to deliver lectures and train girls about self-defence. The same team would be diverted to rural areas soon," said Addl SP Jadhav.
Jadhav said that the measure to keep complaint boxes in girls’ schools has been adopted as girls often opt to keep mum about abuses, or such complaints are suppressed. So, girls often face abuse at school, but are unable to raise their voice.
"The girls would be able to drop their complaints in the boxes. They are not required to reveal their names. The complaints would be collected by the concerned constables and brought before the police station in-charge for redressal. The senior officers would supervise the process to ensure transparency," said Jadhav.
The scheme would be introduced as a pilot project in and around Pachgaon, Kuhi, Makaddhokda and Umrer localities. The Pardhi dominated localities like Champa and Rajurwadi too have been included in the scheme.
"Apart from empowering the girls, we are also trying to focus on the Pardhi community and draw them towards cops through cultivated efforts of community policing," said Jadhav. "The Pardhi community has a history of criminal activities since the British period. Their involvement in the latest dacoity and gang rape case of Kuhi is also part of that trend. We are trying to build bridges with them in this manner," he said.