Crimes against women have increased

The women grievance redressal cell of the city police has a tough task at hand — to reduce atrocities and wrongdoings against women in the city. Ever since the cell was launched in March 2008, the officials of the cell have been working overtime to tackle various problems faced by women, both married and unmarried. Senior police inspector and former incharge of the cell, Mrudula Karwande, tells DNA that though atrocities against women are on the rise, the cell has been putting its best foot forward to curb such crimes.

Has there been a change in pattern of crimes against women over the years?
Yes, the pattern of crime against women has changed over the years. It has also increased. Earlier, crimes against women were restricted to dowry deaths and abetment to suicides. But now cases of rape, cruelty by husbands and in-laws are also on the rise. There are cases where both husbands and wives lodge complaints against each other. Cases of adultery and molestation are also being reported at the cell. I feel that parents must monitor the activities of their children aged between 14 and 19. It is especially important for working parents to ensure that their children do not end up in bad company or use the Internet for wrong reasons. We also have cases where parents do not cross-check the details of their would-be sons-in-law working abroad. Later they discover that the grooms do not have stable jobs and the lives of their daughters are ruined.

Does the cell receive complaints from men also?
Yes, we do receive complaints from harassed husbands as well. About 10% of the total number of complaints that we receive are from men. Most of the complaints are about wives who threaten to lodge complaints against husbands on one pretext or the other. At the cell, we counsel the warring couples and try to strike a compromise. We have got 10 counsellors who give their best to redress the problems of aggrieved spouses. The problem is that men do not give much attention to the counselling sessions. We initiate police action against the guilty only when our counselling does not yield any result.

What are the future plans of the cell?
We have a 24x7 helpline 020-26111103. Whenever we get a distress call, a police team reaches the spot to help the victim. The cell is now planning to tie-up with the Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Women’s Studies Centre at the University of Pune (UoP). Under this initiative, we plan to counsel school and college students and educate them about the laws. This will help create more awareness among them. Such counselling would help the youth in refraining from  indulging in unsocial activities.

What prompted you to join the police force?
I got married after graduation. While watching Udaan serial on television, it struck me that why not make use of the knowledge that I have gained. My husband inspired me and I cleared the Maharashtra State Civil Services Examination in first attempt. The police uniform and the training that we initially get are of paramount importance to us.