Within hours after taking charge, Delhi’s new police commissioner B.K. Gupta has ordered setting up of “women reception desk” at all 185 police stations across the city for addressing complaints made by women.
Top police officials said the orders for setting up a separate women cell at the city police stations were issued on Wednesday evening, hours after Mr Gupta took charge as Delhi’s 16th commissioner.
“Women victims of crime are psychologically more traumatised than men and often prefer to narrate their happenings to a woman rather than a male police officer. The orders will ensure that the women, who approach police with their complaints, are dealt with women police officers so that the victims don’t face more trauma,” a senior police official said.
Sources said all the 185 police stations have been directed to make it mandatory to set up a separate desk within seven days. “It is being proposed that the desk will have two women officers headed by a senior woman police official. We are examining other options as well on how the cell cane be used to deal with crimes related to women,” the official said.
The official said the proposals are also being mooted to increase the number of women police officers at police stations around various educational institutes, including Delhi University and IIT-Delhi. “The orders are likely to be issued soon,” the officer said.
Mr Gupta, a 1974 IPS officer, promised to overhaul the policing techniques and also vowed to introduce a slew of measures that will ensure better safety and security of the citizens.