Cops tortured over 60 women in last few months, says panel

Gurgaon: A few days after a video showing policemen beating up a woman in a Faridabad park went viral, the Haryana State Commission for Women has written to state home secretary S S Prasad stating that the panel has interacted with 60 such women over the past few months.
On Monday, two head constables with the Faridabad police were suspended and three special police officers (SPOs) sacked after a video showing them hitting a woman with a belt surfaced on social media.
The letter, a copy of which is with TOI, states that many of these women were detained or arrested on false charges and then tortured by police.
The letter mentions the case of a pregnant woman from Ambala who was beaten up in police custody. “I was five months pregnant when some goons entered our house on April 28. When we approached police, instead of helping us, the cops took me and my husband into custody and beat us up,” alleged the complainant in her appeal to the commission. The state women commission has attached a list of 30 such cases along with their letter to the home secretary.
Preeti Bhardwaj, chairman of the commission told TOI that they have been receiving complaints against cops on a regular basis. “The incident from Faridabad went viral and people started talking about it. However, many such cases go unnoticed. There is a need to bring about some reforms in the police and make people aware of their rights,” said Bhardwaj.
She added that the commission has conducted inquiries in several districts. Their interaction with women who faced harassment at the hands of police have revealed that incidents of police violence and misconduct are so widespread and rooted in institutional practice that public confidence in the police force is low and continuously decreasing, Bhardwaj said.
A copy of the letter has also been sent to the chief minister’s office seeking long terms solutions.
The commission has also suggested a number of measures to the home secretary, including increasing accountability of the police officers and making changes in the police structure that lead to abusive patterns of behaviour. Additionally, it recommends sensitisation of women police personnel.
“Above all, we need to increase awareness among people about the State Police Complaint Authority. The authority has been constituted to take complaints against the cops, but hardly any people know about it. We need to educate the victims that they can approach SPCA in case of complaint against the police,” said Bhardwaj.