GUWAHATI: Commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the All Women Police Station (AWPS), Panbazar celebrated its 25th Anniversary on Tuesday at its premises. Established on 2nd Oct 1993, the only women police station in the northeastern region was established with a view to address the women from Guwahati and its surrounding areas.
Northeast's lone women police station (WPS), that started with minimal staff of one sub-inspector as the in-charge, one ASI and eight constables (all women force) has been addressing the issues of women in despair diligently for the past 25 years. Presently, the WPS constitutes a total of 23 personnel which includes one inspector, one sub-inspector, 12 constables and eight home guards. However, the PS requires more manpower and the designation of assistant sub-inspector remains unfilled.
To commemorate the occasion of the 25th anniversary, a brief function was organised on the premises of the police station on Tuesday. Commissioner of Police PC Saloi and other senior officials of the commissionerate including various DCPs (Deputy Commissioner of Police) and ADCPs (Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police) attended the function.
A washroom, donated by a young entrepreneur Aditya Vikram Tiwari, was also inaugurated on the occasion. It must be noted that the personnel at the AWPS neither had a washroom nor a changing room in their premises until now.
In a city that has witnessed a recent rise in crimes against women; the WPS has been playing a pivotal role. WPS receives numerous cases on a daily basis – ranging from rape, dowry, IT Act, threatening, torture and Protection of Child from Sexual Offences (POCSO), to name a few.
“For a rape victim, it's not easy to go to a station where so many men in uniform present around her, and open up about the incident. But, in a police station where she knows she’ll be dealing with all ladies, she is a bit more comfortable,” APS Mousumi Kalita, Additional Commissioner of Police (Women Unit) told G Plus.
Not only does the All Women Police Station deal with cases, they also provide counselling, when needed. Counselling is formally provided at the women’s cell of Pan Bazaar Police Station. However, WPS officials also provide counselling in petty cases.
Additionally, APS Mousumi Kalita along with her team at the AWPS are also members of the Anti Human Trafficking Unit of Assam police to effectively combat crimes related to trafficking of persons specially women and children. A trusted source in the police also informed G Plus that Kalita has been trusted with the task of preparing a report of all the cases of missing women and children. This report will comprise of details of the location from where the victim went missing, the modus operandi of the kidnappers and traffickers, the areas from which maximum cases have been recorded and the age group most targeted, amongst others. The report will help map the problems and find the solutions.
25 years on, Women Police Station still riddled with problems
Over the years, the police station has lost its charm. Because of shortage of staff, it is not able to deal with the increasing number of cases of crime against women. The number of pending cases till date with the All Women Police Station is 454. But according to the officials, most of these are old pending cases where the complainants after filing the FIR never appeared again. This year, the PS has registered 110 complaints.
There are more cases registered at the All Women Police Station than can be handled by the staff. The functioning and set up of the WPS is very different from that of other police stations in the city. After the creation of the Commissionerate, the post of ACP (women unit) came into being and the person holding the post was tasked to supervise the cases with the police station and other important crimes related to women in the Commissionerate.
“Recently, we’ve observed an increase in cases under the IT Act. Cases of boys posting images and videos of girls online and blackmailing them have become very common, especially in couples who had been in live-in relationships and drifted apart for some reason,” informed officer in-charge Arati Saikia.
If irregular staff wasn’t problem enough, a lot of women constables are not willing to work during night shifts so handling cases during night hours becomes a challenge. “We are expected to safeguard women, but we’re ourselves not provided with safety of any sorts,” a woman constable stationed at the WPS informed G Plus.
She further added that neither are the female police personnel provided with safe travel during night hours, nor are there any changing rooms or rooms without CCTV cameras for the women to change in and out of their uniform.
The infrastructure of the station acts as a major setback since the boundary walls are very low and there was an absence of washroom apart from the one in lock up. However, the location acts as a plus point with the Panbazar Police Station situated right next door and the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH) just across the road for emergencies.
As per notification from the Director General of Police (DGP) office, WPS is only allowed to cater to cases from Kamrup (M) but cases come in from all over the state and sometimes, from other parts of the country too.
“Women in distress approach us to file their complaints. They expect us to listen to their troubles and guide them instead of denying lodging their complaint. So, we register their complaints at WPS and transfer the case to the concerned police station,” APS Mousumi Kalita informed.
To be able to handle the increasing number of complaints being registered at the All Women Police Station, it has become imperative that its limitations and problems are studied and it’s empowered further.