Even after 75 years of Independence, and for all successive Governments, women’s safety in India remains a matter of deep concern. Women feel unsafe, even at their workplace or while travelling. Many believe that creating awareness about women’s rights and teaching self-defense could be a great success in ensuring safety for women.

People of Durg-Bhilai in Chhattisgarh have been witnessing a very interesting campaign on similar lines. The campaign is named `Pink Gasht’ and is a combined initiative of SP of Durg Mr. Prashant Agrawal and ASP (City) Mr. Sanjay Dhruv.

The motto behind this whole campaign is to create an environment of ‘women-friendly policing ‘ and encourage the women to train in self-defense in the district. Under this initiative, more than 80 female police officials are visiting various public places, including malls, on pink two-wheelers tied to pink balloons. These officials all also wore pink mask to promote the campaign among people.

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PREVENTING CRIME AGAINST WOMEN

During a conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Agrawal said, “Our aim is to create a better environment for women safety and women empowerment. We are also making women aware with regard to prevention of crime against them and how they can reach out to us in case in a timely manner”.

He also mentioned that the initiative got very encouraging response from public and female cops were also very excited to participate in the Gasht.

‘Pink Gasht’ started from the Police control room campus, sector 6 Bhilai on august 13. “As we know that in small towns like Durg, people, especially women, are not aware about their rights and various laws that give protection to them against harassment and serious crimes. They are often afraid to go to the police if something unfortunate happens with them. This new movement is also aimed at providing them training in self-defense and creating a police-friendly environment. Pink Gasht is one of the unique initiatives taken by any police department for the first time in the state of Chhattisgarh”, said City ASP Mr. Dhruv.

IDENTIFYING CRIME SENSITIVE ZONES

Under the campaign, 11 “crime sensitive’’ places have been identified for daily patrolling from 5 pm to 11 pm by the female cops. They are divided into 11 teams and are provided with pink vehicles and scooters for this purpose. Self-defense tactics are being taught to women such as how to use eye spray, chili powder and even safety pins at the time of trouble. The female cops are talking to them and also gifting them the ‘Pink key of safety’, a keyring containing all emergency numbers such as police control room, `Mahila thana’ and Raksha team.

The female cops can be seen in public places, market areas, malls and on the streets- interacting with women and providing them information of their rights. “We are getting very good response from public and our cops have interacted with around 15,000 females till now”, said Mr. Dhruv.

GOOD PUBLIC RESPONSE

With the campaign getting a huge positive response, the police department has decided to continue it and it, at least once every month.

Talking about the extension Mr. Agrawal said, “All women police officers of Durg Police will do Pink Gasht at least once a month in marketplaces and densely populated areas. The female cops will continue to inform them about various safety tips and crime prevention tips. They will also distribute pamphlets carrying advisories and important numbers, including WhatsApp number of Raksha Team members who will resolve their problems in an informal way, in case the victim doesn’t want to lodge a formal complaint.”

Both the police and the women of Durg are happy about the campaign.