‘Where there is will there is a way’. The 12-member Shakti police team of Bikaner, Rajasthan have proven this right. Even though they are a small team but have become the best performing district in crime against women. Despite a 200-strong female cops, the state capital Jaipur was only able to resolve 95 such cases during past seven months, whereas the Bikaner’s miniscule Shakti team tackled around 270 cases of crime against women.
This became possible due to the leadership and guidance of SP, Bikaner Ms. Tejaswini Gautam. Recently, she launched ‘Operation Garima’ in order to provide more rights to the Shakti team and use them strategically for making Bikaner a safe place for women.
NOT SO SLEEPY TOWN
Unlike many other two-tier cities, Bikaner is not a sleepy town. The movement in markets and roads continues till the mid-nights. The shops are opened late in the night and so police have to be alert during the night patrolling as well. “We were getting many complaints of phone snatching and teasing of women by the road Romeos. So, we needed a team which could look after the issues of women”, said the officers.
The Shakti team was already in place under the state government initiatives. They have been doing work and taking action against such cases including the traffic violaters and under the motor vehicle too. There are specific team for such work while law & order issues such important takes a back seat.
OPERATION GARIMA
“Police is not only for investigation and fetch for the accused & offenders. It is the responsibility of police to take preventive actions too, especially to ensure the safety of women. While the teams are already in place but the new initiatives bring a different kind of energy to the team. It also sends the message to the public. So, we launched ‘Operation Garima’”, said the SP.
It was ten days program which will be repeated on regular basis. Since, Bikaner had only 12 female officer and six scooty for the Shakti team, the SP decided to use them strategically for best results.
First the location where women & girls are most vulnerable, were identified. Each pair of Shakti was assigned the locations. During the day time, they covered all the schools & colleges, while in the evening & night they patrolled near malls, market areas and chaupati. “While they took action on their own depending on the situation, the girls also came to them with complains. It is not possible for girls to come to the police station about the complaints of teasing but they can reach the cops on ground and since the cops are women so the victims also feel comfortable around them”, said the officer.
At present the shakti team is only covering the city area but SP Gautam plans to extended the team and the area covered by them too.
