A police station solely for women and to be run by women police personnel was formally inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Defence and Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjeet Singh in Sector 51 here on Friday.
On the occasion, Mr. Singh said the Haryana government’s move to set up a womens’ police station was not only a matter of pride for the nation, but was also being lauded at the international level with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) making a mention of it.
Referring to Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon, the Union Minister said the police station was ‘a small step of the police, but a large step for social harmony’. He hoped that it would help reduce incidents of crime against women in Gurgaon. Mr. Singh also said that it would not be an exaggeration to say that in Gurgaon’s growth story, the contribution of women was substantial.
On the occasion, Gurgaon Police Commissioner Navdeep Singh Virk said the police station would house many facilities to aid empowerment of women. These are expected to include operation of the women helpline (1091), setting up of a Protection Officer’s office for solving cases of domestic violence, a legal aid clinic for offering legal help and counselling to women, among others. According to Mr. Virk, a Community Policing Center would also be set up here where women would be trained in self defence.
The police station is also expected to house a Women RAF Center with 50 members. Mr. Virk added that it would be ‘one stop shop’ of sorts and would function like a ‘single window’ for women. He said staff deputed at this police station consisted of only women to enable women from across the district to lodge their complaint without any hesitation. At present, 30 women police personnel had been deputed and given two new vehicles.
According to the Gurgaon Police Commissioner, it would be choice of the woman complainant whether she wants to lodge her complaint in the nearby police station or at the womens’plice station. Earlier, the Member Secretary of the Gurgaon Legal Services Authority, Chief Judicial Magistrate Suruchi Atreja Singh, said that Advocate Nirmla Yadav would be available at the Legal Aid Center at the police station from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. every day, except Sunday, to counsel complainants and their families in cases of domestic violence.
