VIJAYAWADA: Director General of Police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta stated that the state police department is committed to women’s safety and identified as many as 900 hotspots across the state where a higher number of crimes against women have been reported.
The identified hotspots are being monitored continuously around the clock in order to ensure safety and security of women.
In an official release on Monday, DGP Harish Kumar Gupta said that a total of 164 Shakti Teams have been formed across the state, each operating under the supervision of officers of Inspector General (IG) rank.
These Shakti Teams work in plain clothes and are actively monitoring key areas to identify eve-teasers.
In addition to their regular duties, members of Shakti teams will also create awareness about the usage of the emergency SOS Shakti mobile application.
“A total of 12,119 awareness camps have been organized by Shakti Teams at railway stations, bus stands etc, covering 17,665 locations. So far, 254 individuals involved in eve-teasing have been identified and are under constant surveillance,” he said.
DGP underscores need to promote gender sensitivity from school level
Gupta further elaborated that a special ‘Women and Child Safety Wing’ has been set up, headed by IG rank officer B Rajakumari to systematically curb the crimes against women. “In the last 10 months, courts have imposed stringent punishments on 169 individuals convicted in cases related to POCSO, dowry deaths, murders of women, rape, and gang rape,” the press release noted
He also said the ‘Shakti App’ is now available in Hindi and English languages.
“It can be downloaded from both the Play Store (for Android phones) and iOS (for Apple phones). Since its launch, 1,52,16,440 people have downloaded the Shakti App on their mobile phones across the state.
“The helpline received 11,60,146 SOS emergency calls, out of which 34,192 were classified as requiring immediate response, and 3,193 FIRs have been registered. Additionally, through the app, 242 family counselling requests, 160 safe travel requests, and 18 missing children reports have been filed,” he added.
He further emphasised the importance of instilling a sense of respect for women among men and promoting gender sensitivity from the school and college levels. In addition to taking legal action, he stressed that efforts will be made to promote women empowerment.