Crime against women is not an unknown occurrence in India. The daily newspapers are filled with stories of domestic violence, sexual assaults, rapes, and much more. Then there are so many cases that go unreported. One of the main reasons for this is believed to be the behavior of police personnel towards the victims of these crimes. The blunt questions by policemen often discourage the victims to go to them for help or to report a crime.
The DIG, Anti-Corruption Bureau Mr. Arif Sheikh has always been a believer of policing with a human face and promoting community policing. He believes that this misconception should end and for it to end, the police department will have to adhere to sensitivity while handling these kinds of cases.
With this thought in mind, he started ‘Samvedna Centres’ in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, and also replicated this idea in Raipur where he was posted as SSP till 2020.
In a conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Sheikh talked about the initiative and one particular incident which moved him personally, propelling him to take this initiative.
It All started in Bastar
Mr. Sheikh is one of the few IPS officers to have received an international recognition in the form of three consecutive awards for community policing from International Association of Chief of Police (IACP), the world’s largest professional association for police leaders based out of Virginia, USA.
Mr. Sheikh believes that the police force should have a human face, so as to connect with people and to instill a sense of trust in them.According to Mr. Sheikh, “Traditional policing, that is crime detection and prevention and Community policing goes hand in hand.’’ But it is equally important for the police force to proactively engage with the people, and make them participants in the fight against violence and injustice.
He has spent more than a decade in policing and his initiatives till has been recognized on various front whether it is Chuppi Tod, Har Head Helmet or Aamcho Bastar.
While he was posted in Bastar, an incident happened which completely shook him. He was visiting a police station when he saw a girl sitting outside and was bleeding. Her father was inside the station to report the crime. “I was shocked to see her. I asked her to come inside but neither she nor her father wanted her to go in. There were not comfortable in going in the station. However, with some convincing she came inside but that was the moment when I realised that although police stations are the place for reporting a crime, people are reluctant to enter the premises. That should not be the case, I thought. The place should have a comfortable environment so no victim is hesitant to walk inside”.
That was the moment when Mr. Sheikh thought of developing a place inside a police station for women, a place where they could feel totally comfortable. But then, he got transferred and could not work on this idea in Bastar.
Samvedna Centres for all women
When he came to Bilaspur, Mr Sheikh’s first thought was to develop safe women’s zones’ in the police stations. With the government funds, he renovated a room in one police station and named samvedna centre’. Explaining about it he said, “ We tried to include all the facilities in that one room. We then did this in all the 17 police stations in Bilaspur. A doctor, a female cop and an NGO worker were assigned to be present in the centre every time for the help of distressed women. We also installed sanitary pad incinerator and disposal machine in each centre. Apart from that. all the centres have the facilities which a woman could need at those time.”.
Not only for the distressed woman but the centre is also open for female cops if they want to feed their babies or use other facilties . This initiative was recognised by state government and with its support, Mr. Sheikh has replicated it in Raipur as well.
