Chandigarh: Crime against females on a rise in UT despite many women in khaki

The UT Police has around 5,885 personnel in total, of which 1,280 are women comprising 21.33 per cent of the entire UT police force. The neighbouring states Punjab and Haryana have merely 8.54 per cent and 8.34 per cent of women police personnel, respectively.

The 1,280 women police personnel in the UT include two IPS officers, one of whom is an SSP, ASP, five DSPs, 15 Inspectors, three Assistant Sub Inspectors (ASIs), 55 Head Constables (Hcs) and 1,188 constables. Moreover, 147 women personnel are with the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) and 1,133 women personnel with the Chandigarh Police are posted at police stations, security wing, traffic police, woman police station and crime branch, among others.

There is also a dedicated Woman Police Station in the city for dealing with matrimonial disputes and domestic violence cases.

SP (City) Ketan Bansal said, “The UT Police is very sensitive towards crime against women. Whenever we receive a complaint from a woman, an FIR is lodged immediately. Indeed, some of the matters require an in-depth probe prior to lodging of FIRs. The pendency of cases involving crime against women is very low in the city. We have dedicated wings for redressing grievances of women. These wings include cyber crime cell and woman police station.”

The rate of crime against women reported in Chandigarh has gone up in the recent years. A total 453 cases of crime against women were reported in 2017, 442 were reported in 2018 and 515 were reported in 2019.

Woman stalked, molested in Sector 34 on August 2, no arrest:
A woman was stalked and molested in Sector 34 on August 2. The UT Police have failed to arrest the accused till now. The accused were in an i20 car when they stalked and molested the woman who was riding her two-wheeler. A man known to the victim was also thrashed by the accused. Sources at PS 34 claimed that the occupants of the i20 car have been identified and they will be arrested shortly. The police is reportedly verifying who all were present in the car at the time of the incident. A case was registered at PS 34.

98-year-old murdered in Sector 38 on August 6:
Joginder Kaur, 98, was murdered at her house in Sector 8. She was alone at her house when she was murdered. A cook named Kailash Bhatt was arrested for the crime. He reportedly confessed to committing theft at the victim’s house.

6-year-old missing girl found murdered on March 6:
A six-year-old missing girl was found sexually assaulted and murdered in Hallomajra on March 6. The incident led to widespread protest. Later, a juvenile was apprehended for committing the crime. The case is undertrial.

Woman consumed ‘sleeping pills’ at Woman Police Station on August 17:
A woman pursuing a domestic violence case against her husband consumed poisoning substances, which later turned out to be sleeping pills, at Woman Police Station (WPS-17) in Sector 17 on Tuesday. The woman, a resident of Maloya, had got married five years back and has been living separately from her husband for the last two years. Sources said on Tuesday afternoon, the woman had come to WPS-17 along with her mother, when she consumed the sleeping pills. Her mother claimed that the police personnel have failed to trace the husband and only repeatedly summon her daughter to the police station. A police officer said, “The woman’s condition is stable. She consumed sleeping pills. The police immediately admitted her to GMSH-16. She is stable.”