In P’kula, few takers for women helpline

Tribune News Service

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Panchkula, December 2

Not many women in the district were using the helpline number 1091.

Since August 28, when all-women police station was opened here, only 75 calls have been received from the district. On the contrary, 571 calls were received at Ambala.

A majority of women at Panchkula used the helpline after receiving obscene calls. The complainants, however, did not prefer legal action against the offender apprehending that their parents would take away mobile phones from them if they come to know about it. Women facing domestic violence too called 1091 frequently.

Ambala Commissioner of Police OP Singh, who was convening a plenary session of lady constables and officers posted in the women police station at Panchkula, has expressed concern over the small number of calls made on the helpline.

“The reasons behind less use of the service have to be located,” he said.

Apart from this, the Ambala women police station has been flooded with 553 complaints since its inception three months ago. Out of these, 485 were resolved through counselling and criminal cases were registered on 22 complaints.

The Panchkula women police station received 424 complaints during the period. While 367 of them have been resolved, criminal cases were registered on 20 complaints.

Most of them pertained to dowry and domestic violence. A few of them pertained to molestation and rape also, said the CP.

The Crime against Women Cell at Ambala, which deals with family disputes, settled 203 cases through mediation out of the 288 complaints received by it. Its Panchkula counterpart succeeded in resolving 380 of the 430 complaints through mediation.

When a lady constable expressed concern over eve-teasing in passenger buses, it was decided that officials of the Women police station would intercept buses frequently and ask women passengers for complaints, if any.