Oz team visit women’s police station

Vadodara: As the day dawns, the women’s police station in Karelibaug usually sees women walk in with their complaints. But on Tuesday, woman cops got a pleasant surprise as they welcomed Aussie visitors.
The Australian women’s cricket team members made a visit to the women’s police station and spent about one-and-half hours there. The cricketers also interacted with the cops and some of the women who had been helped by the police in the past.

“The visit was organized by the Gender Resource Centre (GRC) through the state government. Some members of the Australian cricket team visited the women’s police station to see how it functions. The team was also given information about our 181 Abhayam service and how it has helped many women who were in trouble,” said Saroj Kumari, DCP (crime) and Zone IV. The cops gave a presentation of their activities and police based support centre (PBSC) run under GRC.

The PBSCs provide counselling to needy women, especially the victims of domestic violence, family problems and other harassment. A woman police official said that when the team visited, some of its members didn’t seem to be much interested. But, when the cops started explaining them about their activities, all the Aussies including their coach were all ears. The women cops spoke in local language while a translator explained it to the Australian team in English.

“We had invited some women complainants who had benefited from our counselling. They interacted with the Australians who seemed impressed with our work,” said H D Vyas, police sub-inspector, women’s police station.

Pleased with the welcome they received, the Australian team members gave their team caps to all the women police station staff. The Indian women’s cricket team too is expected to visit the women’s police station on Saturday.