Treat women with dignity at police stations, says women’s commission chairperson

Karnataka State Women’s Commission chairperson Nagalakshmi Choudhary urged police personnel to treat women with dignity and respect when they approach police stations to lodge complaints or seek information.

Speaking after presiding over a Jan Sunwai (public grievance) programme at the Regional Commissioner’s office here on Friday (March 13), she said women should feel fearless while approaching police stations to lodge complaints if they face any form of harassment or difficulty.

Ms. Choudhary said the commission’s objective is to ensure justice even for the most marginalised women. Noting that the police department was functioning in a people-friendly manner, she suggested that greater publicity should be given to the various initiatives undertaken by the department so that more citizens could benefit from them.

She also advised women to report to senior officers if they encounter any inappropriate behaviour at police stations. Police personnel should treat women courteously and help build their confidence when they visit police stations, she added.

Referring to the Prevention of Sexual Harassment committees in government and private institutions, she said the committees must meet once every three months and called for proper monitoring of their implementation.

Mysuru City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar said several programmes had been launched by the police department for women’s safety and urged girls facing any form of exploitation to immediately contact the nearest police station.

She said the police department operates the Akka patrol vehicle, which mainly conducts rounds near colleges and vulnerable locations to ensure the safety of girls. She added that the Vimukthi programme had been implemented in Mysuru to curb drug consumption and trafficking.

Ms. Latkar said crime rates within the Mysuru city limits had declined significantly since 2023 and appealed to the public to cooperate with the police in preventing criminal activities.

Additional Deputy Commissioner P. Shivaraju said many women had submitted petitions related to housing sites and basic civic amenities and advised them to approach the departments concerned.

When a woman complained about the lack of housing and basic facilities provided by a private institution, Dr. Shivaraju asked her to visit the Deputy Commissioner’s office and provide complete details so that the matter could be examined.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Gangadhar Swamy briefed participants about various outreach programmes conducted by the police department, including monthly public interaction meetings, Shoshanege Olagadavara Dina (day for victims of harassment) observed on the last Sunday of every month, and the Mane Mane Police initiative.

He said a special police team had been formed to prevent human trafficking and that it conducts an “Open House” programme with school and college students every Thursday. Meetings with various departments and NGOs are also held once every two months.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Nagesh, Deputy Director of the Women and Child Development Department Basavaraju, and other officials were present.