Despite Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat repeatedly insisting on appointing adequate number of women sub-inspectors and constables in the State police to curb the spiraling crimes against women, things keep hanging fire. State police top brass has sounded frustrated with the laid-back attitude of the administration on the matter. They say things are vegetating despite the police headquarters having submitted the proposal several months ago. But the proposal has been gathering dust, they say.
Notably, the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has stressed on adequate presence of women in the force after inaugurating the seventh National Conference on Women in Police at CRPF Academy, Kadarpur, Gurgaon.
State DGP BS Sidhu said that they had sent repeated proposals on recruitment of women sub-inspectors and constables to the State administration over the past few months. “We are waiting for the approval to start the recruitment process,” he said.
“Crimes against women seeing an alarming spurt over the past few years, the need of adequate representation of women in the police force is being felt all the more. Besides, the number of women sub-inspectors and constables in the State is less than the national standard. We are planning to appoint two women sub-inspectors at each of police stations based in the plain districts while for the mountainous districts, one woman police officer for two police stations there will suffice, given the lesser happening of crime there.
Earlier, we sent a proposal on recruitment of around 100 women sub- inspectors and around 700 constables to the State Government. Once we receive the go-ahead, recruitment of women SIs and constables will start,” DGP added.
Sarojini Kaintyura, chairperson, Uttarakhand State Women Commission, said that she had recently urged the State government to appoint at least one woman police officer at each police station. “This is an imperative as cases of atrocities on women are on the rise. Our experiences say that the women complainants would feel more confident to confide in the women police officers than their male counterparts,” she said.
Critics opined that despite the state Chief Minister Harish Rawat announcing several times that women’s representatives in the police department would be increased, the recruitment of women sub-inspectors and constables has been pending before the state administration for months. Things are vegetating because of lack of coordination between police headquarters and State administration, they lament.