Twitter
Advertisement

‘Sexual harassment unchecked in police department’

It is rather ironic that many women constables in Maharashtra police are least astonished by the Kolhapur trainee constable rape case in which two senior personnel have been suspended, one head constable arrested and a superintendent of police (SP) transferred for negligence.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

It is rather ironic that many women constables in Maharashtra police are least astonished by the Kolhapur trainee constable rape case in which two senior personnel have been suspended, one head constable arrested and a superintendent of police (SP) transferred for negligence.

Adding insult to injury, one of the suspended officers, deputy superintendent of police (home), Vijay Parkale was also serving as an advisor to the Kolhapur police’s committee against sexual harassment.

The case involves the alleged rape of a trainee constable by members of the police department themselves, besides allegations that 11 other trainee constables were subjected to sexual harassment by seniors from the department.

The trainee constable, who tested positive for pregnancy and alleged rape, was undergoing training in Kolhapur. Following her complaint, the key suspect, head constable Yuvraj Kambale, was arrested, Parkale and police inspector, Dnyaneshwar Mundhe suspended and Kolhapur SP, Yashasvi Yadav, transferred.

The Maharashtra police has more than 12,000 women, mostly constables, in its total force of 1.66 lakh personnel. Speaking to DNA, a cross-section of women constables confided that
sexual harassment of women constables in the state police force is “quite common.” However, the hapless  victims, a majority of who hail from poor backgrounds, are never keen to lodge written complaints lest they face the wrath of their superiors and lose their jobs.

“The Kolhapur incident is nothing unusual. There are some policemen in the state who sexually harass their female counterparts on one pretext or the other. But as these gullible women hail from the rural parts of Maharashtra, they are afraid to lodge a formal complaint against the culprits,” an IPS officer told DNA, requesting anonymity.

When asked to give details of sexual harassment complaints received and action taken by the Maharashtra police in the past few years, special inspector general of police, Shobha Ohatker said, “I have recently taken charge of this post and am on leave presently.”

Ohatker, who heads the cell for protection of women and children against atrocities, said that when she was working at the Pune police commissionerate, she used to hold a darbar for women staffers to attend to their grievances.

Former director general of police (anti-Naxal operations), Jayant Umranikar confirmed that he had received harassment complaints from women constables about their night duties and bandobast duties. “Our additional commissioner of police, Shobha Ohatker, handled the issue,” he said.

Citing examples of sexual harassment, some women constables told DNA that during patrolling duty, they are forced to sit between two male counterparts in the police vehicle and then nudged inappropriately.

Or, during bandobast duty, a woman constable’s superior takes her to a nearby lodge for a few hours “to relax”.

“There are even instances when some male policemen have offered money to a woman constable for sexual favours or have promised awards and prizes. Sometimes these offers cannot be turned down out of fear that our promotions could be stopped or we could be given odd duty hours. We could even be suspended on one pretext or the other,” a policewoman said.

The Maharashtra police has two training institutes for women police constables at Nagpur and Lonavla. According to a woman constable, “There is a dearth of women trainers for training 800 women constables at a time. Therefore, male trainers are deployed to train these lady constables. Some of these male trainers have malafide intentions, as was seen in the Kolhapur case.”

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an IPS officer recalled an incident where some policemen were found peeping through a window in the Pune police commissionarate to watch their female counterparts changing their uniforms. When this was detected, the window was immediately sealed.

According to one policewoman, their seniors have not always been helpful when their attention was drawn to cases of sexual harassment. “Rather than taking cognisance of the issue, they always try to strike a compromise. They try to counsel us. But our male counterpart who is at fault is never touched,” she said.

(With inputs from Sandip Dighe and Manasi Saraf Joshi)

Examples of sexual harassment
• Policewomen forced to sit between two male counterparts in the police vehicle during patrolling duty with inappropriate body contact.
* A woman constable’s superior takes her to a nearby lodge for a few hours “to relax” during bandobast duty.
* Asking for sexual favours with offers of money, awards and prizes. Sometimes these offers cannot be refused out of fear of impact on career or punishment such as odd duty hours or transfers.
 

Expert opinion
Former director general of police, Bhaskarrao Misar, "Wherever the two genders work together, some amount of sexual harassment is bound to occur, although one cannot make generalisations. The Supreme Court’s guidelines on sexual harassment in the Vishakha Sharma case should not be restricted to the corporate world, but also followed in each police station. The guidelines are very specific and the police department needs to follow it at the level of various stations and chowkies."

Nari Samata Manch counsellor, Kranti VM, "I regularly visit the Pune police commissionerate and no policewoman has ever approached me on the issue of sexual harassment. The police force is heavily male-dominated and there could be something murky. However, policewomen never admit this openly. This could be out of fear of transfer or a threat to their career."
 

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement