No cells at women’s police stations in Mangaluru, Puttur 

MANGALURU: Women’s police stations in Mangaluru and Puttur do not have holding cells because of which women cops are having a tough time in dealing with detained accused. There have been incidents of accused running away from the station after being arrested. Under such circumstances, women are “discouraged” from approaching these women’s police stations.

A look into the city’s women’s police station reveals that three rooms here are open to the staff and visitors, while one is meant for documentation. The Puttur station has two rooms for the use of its staff. 
Visitors occupy one of the rooms with their families, where the cops counsel the parties to make amends, thus avoiding an FIR. Due to this, a number of complainants are housed in a setup that is supposed to make women feel at ease.

Complaints of fights between couples dominate the 87 cases being handled by these two stations in the district. Other complaints involve sexual harassment, molestation, rape, abduction and dowry, say officials of the stations. While the number may not be too high, facilities in the station cannot accommodate more people.“It gets difficult to accommodate so many people when there is barely enough space for 10,” said a cop, adding that the process is also time-consuming.