In the
aftermath of the Hyderabad veterinarian doctor’s rape and murder, the police in different states of
India are trying to work on one aspect that failed the system, her trust to
call her sister instead of the police. In a move to ensure women/girls’ safe
travel, police in places like towns in Prakasam district(Andhra Pradesh)
Nagpur, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad have posted about a drop home
service under which designated vehicles from 9 pm to 5 am will pick up girls or
women from odd or dangerous places within minutes and drop them at safe
locations. As soon as any woman or girl dials 100 in emergency situations, the
vehicle will reach the spot within 15 to 20 minutes. If needed, it will drop
them at their destinations safely. Many places had already launched this
service on Women’s Day this year.
This perhaps addresses one issue of safety and security of women
and admittedly not a solution. But it’s never the less a good beginning. Does
the Goa police have any plans to follow suit?
DySP traffic, North Goa, Dharmesh Angle says, “The motto of Goa
police is to render all the possible help to all, not just for women. If they
dial 100, they can state their concerns and the police will help the people in
need.” An officer of the Police Control Room was quick to answer the call and
informed us that the police have not yet received any official notice of
exclusive drop service for women after 9pm. “If really there is a need and we
receive a call at the Control room, we usually have male officers patrolling
with robot vehicle but if it’s a woman, then we send a lady constable from the
police station to drop the woman in need,” he said.
Even if such a service is available in Goa, are women open to
calling the police for help or their own known people? Nadia D’Sa, an office
goer, had a positive experience dialling 100 and asking for help after an
incident with a mentally unstable person on the Panjim bus stand. “After
hitting me, he was walking around aimlessly. My friends and I called 100 and
informed that we were at the bus stand and he was there too. We kept an eye on
him till the police came within a few minutes of the call. They picked him up
from the bus stand. They were quick to respond to the threat and that was the
only interaction I had with the police,” says Nadia.
Rekha Pandit from Santa Cruz has to depend on public transport
to get home from work. Sometimes late in the evening, she has to walk a stretch
of lonely road across the fields when she calls her children to drop her home.
“I would rather call my relatives than the police. You cannot trust anyone
these days. Anyone can dress up as a police and come with a lady. After all,
they are also strangers. We don’t know who are the genuine police and I have
strictly warned my daughters not to expect lifts from strangers,” says Rekha.
For Eva Menezes,
travelling from Panjim to Margao on the last shuttle is a norm but it gets
stressful when the bus doesn’t proceed to the Margao market. “I have never
interacted with the police and I don’t know any members of the police force.
Unlike any other person, they too are strangers and I will not trust a police
officer to drop me home in the night,” says Eva.
Working in Goa for
women requires one to travel far distances from the interior villages to the
cities. Rakhi Naik travels nearly 35 kilometres one way on her bike to make it
to work from Valpoi. “The journey itself is very tiring and there are forested
areas which I have to cross on the way. If there is a bike break down, I have
no option but to wait and hope for the call to go through due to network
issues. It would be helpful to have a police service that could help in such a
situation. With proper ID cards, if the police can help us going home safely, I
think the drop service will be a welcome move,” says Rakhi.
Recently a minor girl
in Odisha was allegedly gang-raped by two men, including a dismissed police
constable, in a police quarter of Puri district in Odisha. The dismissed police
constable came in a car along with three others and offered to drop her at her
village after she was stranded at a bus stand. He showed his police ID card to
gain the victim’s trust. When the girl saw three others in the car, she was
scared for her safety, but he promised to drop her home. However, instead of
taking her to her village, the four took her to the police quarter where he and
one of his aides raped her. During the sexual assault, the victim recorded the
faces of her assailants on her phone camera and even caught hold of the
identity card of the dismissed police constable which helped reveal his
identity.
With such reports
constantly showing up on new feeds, it is more of a trust issue with the good
Samaritans.
However, trust needs
to be built. The Goa police need to cover a lot of ground towards sensitising
people, especially women and then delver by being prompt in responding to
calls. This will help not just locals but single women tourists as well.
(What
do you, the reader, who is a parent, teacher, friend, spouse or sibling of so
many women faced with this question of whether cops can be trusted to drop you
home, feel? Email cafe@herald-goa.com or join the conversation on our Instagram
(heraldcafe) and Facebook pages (@oheraldogoa)
