Cops plan safety audit after holding 3 for attack on women’s hostel

Bhubaneswar: Three persons were arrested on Monday for the attack on a women’s hostel in the Nayapalli area as the commissionerate police launched a safety audit of women’s hostels and their surroundings in the wake of Friday’s incident.
The three have been identified as Sania Das (22), Sasikant Bhoi (20) and Sanjay Behera (37), all residents of Bhoi Sahi in Nayapalli.
“We took the matter seriously and have arrested three accused. Others involved in the case have been identified and would be arrested soon. Sania and Sanjay were earlier arrested in some cases,” assistant commissioner of police Sanjeev Satpathy said.
All police stations have been asked to identify places where women’s hostels are located. Women police officers have started visiting hostels to oversee the safety measures. The personnel have been asked to visit the periphery of the hostels to identify safety concerns and immediately fix them, a senior police official said.
The hostel operators have been asked to install CCTV cameras and maintain a register on the details of the boarders and visitors. There is also a plan to create WhatsApp groups involving ladies’ hostels by inspectors-in-charge (IICs) of police stations concerned in their jurisdictions to receive complaints.
At present, city police do not have any database of the exact number of women’s hostels that have mushroomed in the last few years. Many residential houses have been converted into women’s hostels in view of a rising demand for accommodation among students and working women in the capital city.
The vandalism at the private women’s hostel in Nayapalli has raised concerns about safety of women. Some anti-socials, who had gathered near the hostel in the evening, passed lewd comments at the hostel’s owner and later threw stones at her.
When she resisted, the eve-teasers allegedly assaulted her and barged into the hostel by hurling abuses at the inmates.
The group of around 10 men went on the rampage in the hostel, smashed flowerpots and windowpanes, leaving the women terrified. The hostel boarders include students and working women.
Last month, an MoU was signed between the commissionerate police and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Ladies Organization to sensitise women on various issues under the Reach Her initiative.