Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Over two years since the introduction of the police commissionerate system in Bhopal, fewer women have been essaying the role of town inspectors (TIs) in the state capital.
As of 2024, just two police stations of the city out of 36 have a female TI, which is a far cry from the women representation goals. On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2024 being observed on Friday, Free Press spoke to senior police officials over the issue, and the downsides of having few female police personnel in Bhopal.
TI of Mahila Thana (women police station) of Bhopal, Shilpa Kaurav said that the number of women TIs in state capital Bhopal should be ramped up. Suggesting putting up the issue before the senior officials of the Bhopal police commissionerate system, she said that many a times, the women inspectors deployed in the police relinquish their jobs to look after their family, as they are not able to strike a good work-life balance. “The role of a police officer is quite demanding, and in a bid to look after the family, the women inspectors end up quitting their jobs,” she said.
She further said that although fewer women TIs are present in Bhopal, the Mahila thana suffices to redress the grievances of such females, who are being subjected to atrocities and tortures. Her claims however, fall in stark contrast with the rising graph of crimes against women, which stood at a tally of 346 in 2022, and rose to 397 in 2023, including offences such as domestic violence and molestation in public places.
Women’s take
Payal Sahu, an employee at a private bank in the city, who is a native of Guna, underscored the dire need to ramp up the number of female workforce in Bhopal police. She said a huge number of male traffic cops are present in the city, who often intercept male commuters flouting the traffic norms, while the females manage to get away scot-free even after not wearing a seat-belt or a helmet.
Shatakshi Upadhyay, a telecom employee based in Bhopal, said that in numerous cases of crimes against women, the females prefer to approach their nearest police station instead of heading towards Mahila thana. In case the TI at their nearest police station turns out to be a male, they incur numerous problems in narrating their ordeal to them, especially during sexual offence such as molestation, rape, sexual assault/exploitation etc.
