Hearing a case of a woman who was forced into prostitution,the Bombay High Court on Tuesday told the Mumbai Police that a woman belonging to such a background does not mean she is of loose virtue. The 21-year-old complainant,after being forced to work as a prostitute for nearly a decade,managed to break free and filed an FIR against the alleged pimp Rajesh Rajput. You cant ask her to get out. They wont know how to express themselves, the Division Bench of Justice Ranjana Desai and Justice Mridula Bhatkar said. In future treat them well, Justice Desai told the Additional Commissioner of Police who was present in court. While hearing the petition,issue of lack of woman cops in police stations in the city also surfaced. The court had earlier sought a status on the number of woman officers and constables attached to the 90 police stations in Mumbai. Additional public prosecutor Poornima Kantharia on Tuesday submitted a list revealing there are 11 women officers and 171 lady constables attached to the 90 police stations. The court noted that only 48 police stations had women police officers and held that prima facie it is not sufficient to attend to grievances of women complainants. The judges expressed their concern and directed the state through the Mumbai Police Commissioner to produce details on the sanctioned strength,vacancies and future appointments of women officers within two weeks. The complainant on Tuesday informed the court that she was happy at the womens home where she has been rehabilitated. As for Rajput,the police said that investigations are on and some incriminating articles have been recovered. Rajput had allegedly threatened to kill the girl after which she filed a complaint with Malad police. Since there was no response she moved the High Court,seeking police protection and a proper recording of her complaint.
