Team Herald
MARGAO: NGO Bailancho Ekvott (BE) has criticised the poor condition of the women’s cell at the South Goa Police Headquarters in Margao and has demanded for better infrastructure given that the present scenario is hampering cases.
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In letters that they wrote to the authorities including the Director General of Police (DGP), BE President Auda Viegas, pointed out that the recent incident of the alleged offence of rape by a PSI of Margao Police Station has shaken up the faith of women in policing in the state of Goa.
“I strongly feel that this incident would have been avoided if there were a sufficient number of women police to handle women-related cases,” she said.
She further pointed to the increase in child sexual abuse cases as well as the increase in cases registered under the POCSO Act, while reiterating her demand for the appointment of more women police officers at police stations.
Speaking about the requirement at the Margao Police Station, she pointed out that there is no lady police officer posted in South Goa, which needs to be addressed urgently.
“We have an Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) and a Women and Child Protection Unit (WCPU) at Margao where women from all over South Goa come to address their grievances. However, the AHTU needs to be activated to prevent and prohibit trafficking. The WCPU should have powers to register complaints otherwise it’s a waste,” Auda added.
She also called for the WCPU to be upgraded as a full-fledged police station which would solve a lot of these issues.
“Three years ago, a room was dedicated on the premises of the Marago Police Station for child abuse and exploitation complaints. Bailancho Ekvott has had the room painted and emptied for that purpose. However, to date neither has the room been acknowledged that it exists nor has it been inaugurated,” Auda lamented.
She also pointed out the space constraints at the Margao Police station in general despite the Maina – Curtorim Police vacating the rooms they were occupying earlier.
She said that 4 PSIs have to sit in a tiny room and sometimes even in the garage where they attend to cases, which she added does not create the necessary environment needed for handling sensitive cases.
