Harassment victims can file complaints from home
Counsellors, legal persons and medical assistants demanded
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: A meeting between police and NGOs resolved that women in harassment cases can file complaints from home itself to avoid the inconvenience of coming to the police station late at night. Also, all complaints have to be necessarily taken and an acknowledgements given within two hours, it was decided further.
The meeting, which was chaired by SP crime Kartik Kashyap, saw allegations being made that when women called the emergency No 100 at night to complain about drunk husbands beating their wives, the police arrived on the scene and called them to the police station to register their complaints.
It was further alleged that many a time the police did not take up complaints and no acknowledgements were given. Another allegation was that the victims are made to wait for long and they are made to shuttle from one police station to another.
The police promised this would not happen anymore.
Another allegation was that there was no infrastructure available at the women police station like jeeps and personnel.
During the meeting the police promised that in case a woman was thrown out of her marital home, a case of wrongful restraint would be registered.
The NGOs have demanded State mechanisms like counsellors, legal persons and medical assistants on call till the state counselling centre attached to the police station was in place as well as that capacity building and sensitization programs taken up for police.
Also a demand was made for coordination between police stations and other govt institutions like Apna Ghar, Protective Home, GMC hospital, etc.
The NGOs also demanded that those cops who do not attend to women’s complaints be reported directly to SP
Crime Kashyap.
