This is an archive article published on October 26, 2021
Increasing crimes against women: Pimpri-Chinchwad seeks all-women police station
Last week, corporators cutting across party lines repeated their demand for an all-women police station at the PCMC general body meeting after which the civic administration has decided to take it up
Women police officers from Pimpri Chinchwad (File)
With increasing cases of crimes against women being reported in Pimpri-Chinchwad, the demand for a separate police station for women has gained momentum. The Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and the police commissionerate have also supported the idea so that women can step forward and lodge complaints without hesitation or fear.
Women’s groups and civic activists had from time to time voiced the demand for a separate all-women police station here, but the idea was not pursued by the earlier NCP regime or the current BJP dispensation.
Last week, corporators cutting across party lines raised the issue once again at the PCMC general body meeting after which the civic administration decided to take it up. The Police Commissionerate too said it would urge the state government to sanction the proposal.
NCP corporator Vaishali Kalbhor first raised the matter in the civic general body meeting, pointing out the need for an all-women police station in Pimpri-Chinchwad and police chowkies at all eight civic zonal office levels. Her demand was supported by corporators including Seema Savale and Sujata Palande.
“On behalf of the BJP, I supported the idea of a separate police station. Other party corporators also made a similar demand. We have long been seeking a separate police station for women with only women personnel and it should only take up cases filed by women like harassment, stalking, beating, molestation, rape, dowry demand and similar issues,” said Savale. “Though a separate Pimpri-Chinchwad police commissionerate has come up, women and girls still hesitate to step forward and lodge complaints,” she added.
Mayor Mai Dhore, who presided over the meeting, told The Indian Express on Tuesday, “I have urged the civic administration to take necessary steps. The corporators have rightly voiced the concern of womenfolk. Almost every day, crimes against women take place in the city. Many women are afraid to lodge complaints because they, especially those who are uneducated, have hesitations in narrating their ordeal to male police personnel.”
Dhore said she will hold a meeting with Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Patil in this regard and direct the administration to take up the matter seriously. “We will have to find adequate space to set up the police station,” she said.
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At the meeting, Patil assured the corporators that his administration would issue necessary directions for setting up the all-women police station. He said the administration had several plans to ensure the safety of women. “Currently, the control and command centre work – which links the Smart City and Police Commissionerate – is underway. The work of installing CCTVs around the city is also going on,” he said.
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When asked about the proposed station, Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissioner Krishna Prakash said, “If the PCMC is ready to bear the expenditure, there is no reason why an all-women police station can’t be set up. We are ready for it. PCMC should pass a resolution in its general body meeting… We will forward it to the state government and urge it to expedite the matter.”
The police official said it was true that crimes against women were rising in Pimpri-Chinchwad. “But we have taken strong action and continue to deal with such cases sternly. An all-women police station will encourage more women to register their complaints,” Prakash said.
Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.
Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives.
Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees.
During Covid, over 50 doctors were asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa.
Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died.
Manoj More is on Facebook with 4.9k followers (Manoj More), on twitter manojmore91982 ... Read More
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