Uttar Pradesh is setting up three all-woman battalions

Lucknow, Oct 19 (IANS) The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is setting up three all-woman battalions of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC).

This is a part of the state government's 'Mission Shakti' programme that seeks to empower women.

According to a government spokesman, the new battalions will be named after three famous women warriors from the state -- Rani Avantibai Lodhi, Uda Devi and Jhalkari Bai, who sacrificed their lives during the freedom struggle of India.

The battalions will come up in Lucknow, Badaun and Gorakhpur.

"This is for the first time that all-woman PAC battalions are being set up. These are additional battalions over and above 33 which already exist. Land for these battalions have already been identified and the requisition for the required staff has been raised," the spokesman said.

The process of recruitment for 1,262 posts in each of the women battalions is underway.

The break-up of the vacant posts includes one commandant, three deputy commandants, and nine assistant commandants. Other posts of the battalion that must be filled include one shivir pal (camp organiser), 24 inspectors, 108 head constables, 842 constables, and cooks.

"The government is very sensitive about the status of women in the police which goes a long way in checking the crime against women. The Chief Minister has already given instructions to recruit only women on 20 per cent of vacant posts in the Home Guards department, which has contributed significantly to maintaining peace and internal security," the spokesman added.

The state has already set up women help desks at all the 1,584 police stations of the state by appointing women beat constables, who address the problems of female complainants at the police stations and ensure their swift disposal.

A separate reception is set up for women on the premises of the police stations to make them feel comfortable speaking to the female constable.

At the women help desk, 3,98,686 complaints have so far been made, of which 3,894,17 have been resolved. As many as 20,740 women (beat police officers) are stationed at the state's 10417 police stations.

In addition to this, women-beat officers also inform women about the policies and initiatives being taken by the Yogi government to promote welfare of women.

Shakti Mobile, established with the objective to stop crimes against women across the state, is prosecuting offenders with the assistance of the victim's family.

Through the women helpline, 4.84 lakh women received assistance. In outer tehsils of the districts, 61 women reporting police posts, counselling facilities, and women police stations were established at the same time.

Women are filing complaints about crimes against them and domestic violence in these outposts and police stations. Women's concerns, including those involving dowry harassment, domestic violence, and triple talaq, are handled professionally by these facilities.

ADG (Law and Order),Prashant Kumar, said that for the first time, as many as 61 all-exclusive women police outposts have been formed across the state.

"These outposts will later be turned into full-fledged Mahila thanas," said the officer.

The objective for formation of these outposts is to encourage rural women to register cases of domestic violence, dowry harassment.