Mission Shakti 5.0 | Azamgarh police new drive: Recover women’s maintenance payments pending for years

A special police team, drawn from the Women’s Help Desk and the station’s Special Task Unit, was constituted to trace defaulters, press for compliance and ensure that the dues reach the rightful beneficiaries.

“Through coordinated efforts and continuous persuasion, we have managed to clear the pending dues in 32 cases, amounting to around ₹30 lakh so far. The process is still ongoing,” said Anil Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police, Azamgarh.

Following recovery, courts cancelled all 32 outstanding warrants and the sums were transferred directly into the women’s bank accounts to ensure transparency and timely payment.

To oversee the operation, a district-level committee has been formed to monitor the special teams and guide the recovery process. In several cases, the police worked on court directives to implement non-cash orders as well: under a specific court instruction, the force facilitated the transfer of four biswa of land to one woman to satisfy a maintenance claim.

Officials said many husbands have complied after police intervention, depositing the due amounts to avoid further action. The drive aims to end the repeated hardship many women face, forced court visits and prolonged delays in receiving legally awarded support.

“There have been cases where women have not been paid for a long time, forcing them to face financial hardships and make repeated visits to the court,” a police officer said.

The report cited one beneficiary, a 29-year-old local woman whose Family Court order dated September 2022 directed her husband, a 33-year-old farmer, to pay maintenance. The couple, married in 2019, have two children.

After years of alleged harassment and a separation, she pursued relief through the court; when the husband failed to comply, recovery proceedings were initiated and later enforced by the special police team, which ensured the pending amount was deposited into her account.

Police said the Mission Shakti initiative will continue to prioritise such cases and urged women with pending maintenance claims to come forward so that the authorities can expedite enforcement and deliver the relief ordered by courts. Further recoveries are expected as the teams carry the drive into additional cases.