‘Disha covers all segments related to women’s safety’

Programme focusses on educating women on their rights, says Police Commissioner

The Disha programme launched by the State government is a comprehensive programme for women’s safety, as it covers almost all segments concerning the safety of women, said Police Commissioner Manish Kumar Sinha, here on Monday.

Speaking to The Hindu, he said that primarily the programme focusses on educating women on their rights and how to access the justice delivery system.

The programme is administered through Mahila Mitra or Cyber Mitra or through various social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, and also through Mahila police.

The outreach and emergency response factors are also embedded in this programme, which includes calling the Mahila Police, dial 100, dial 112, social media platforms, Disha application and Disha Patrol vehicles. The idea is to reach women in distress at the earliest, he said. The programme also addresses the prevention aspect through various steps taken such as vulnerability mapping, geo-tagging of sexual offenders, opening of suspect sheets on the accused in DISHA crimes, opening of sheets on cyber bullies and intensifying patrolling through Disha patrols, said Mr. Manish Kumar Sinha. He said that women were now coming out to lodge their complaints. About 52% of Spandana complainants are women and 89% of complaints coming to Cyber Mitra are also from women. “We have also worked on the investigation angle and these days police are filing charge-sheet on an average within 42 days. All charge-sheets are getting vetted by the Special Public Prosecutor, to tighten the case,” he said. Integrated crime scene vehicle has also given us the edge to speed up the investigation, he said.

According to him, all efforts are being made for capacity building. Training is being imparted right from constables to the Assistant Commissioners of Police, to make the investigation scientific, evidence-based and foolproof. The Disha one-stop centres are also coming in to help women. These centres consist of a place where a woman in distress can just walk in and it is supported with boarding and lodging for five days. There are expert counsellors to take care of the emotional trauma and health workers to take care of the health-related issues. The Centre is presently being run at KGH.

Source: Read Full Article