Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has called on the police department officials not to compromise on the safety of women and children under any circumstances.
During a review meeting on the Home Department held at his camp office here on Thursday, he told the officials to respond seriously to cyber harassment of women and set up a special department to curb harassment of women and children through cyber and social media.
Disha has already set an example for the country, the officials should work in the same spirit in the prevention of cyber harassment, besides bringing good policies to prevent these by going through the best policies being followed in the other states, he said, adding that best legal experts should be deployed to resolve the cases on a priority basis
The Chief Minister further said that all these programs should be there to reassure the victim. Harassment through social media is a challenge for the police. These harassments will increase more and more in the coming days. A special department should be setup to deal with the cases and procure the necessary technical knowledge and it should function separately on the lines of SEB.
Every crime has its roots in social media and if it can be identified and destroyed there it will save many people. He asked the officials no to compromise in protecting girls and women from harassment through social media. Majority of them will hesitate to approach the police. In this regard, the officials should identify those cases using advanced technological methods.
Creation of special departments will enable such things to be identified. An Additional DG rank official should be appointed as head of this department. Reporting of crimes and incidents should not be neglected, he said, adding that citizens should be able to report fearlessly and reporting should be encouraged which will automatically increase the willingness to volunteer to make complaints.
The police department should coordinate with the education department and the women and child welfare department to prevent harassment and other crimes against women and girls, besides involving the women police. Referring to the women police- protocol, the Chief Minister said that women police in the secretariats should maintain strict protocol.
They should work in an armed manner at the village level which will bring good reputation to the police department. A comprehensive review should be done on the current duties and responsibilities of the women police. Officials should also explore on all possibilities to make changes accordingly. This increases the respect towards the police at the village level and positive results should be brought from the women police system, besides developing some apps and create awareness among women police.
DGP K Rajendranath Reddy said that the percentage of crimes is decreasing due to the women police system and visible changes are noticed. He also said that murders have decreased by 6 percent and riots have decreased by 36 percent. Reviewing the functioning of Disha App, the Chief Minister asked the officials to conduct a special drive and ensure every individual install the app besides creating awareness among the people by distributing pamphlets highlighting the benefits of the app .
Officials should include the details of how the Disha program has been conducted so far, how many people have received help, how many cases have been filed and how many have been punished in the pamphlet and explain about the services provided by the women police in the villages. The officials told the Chief Minister that the number of reporting on various incidents has increased due to the implementation of Disha, while 1.36 lakh people have downloaded Disha app and police intervened in 29,000 incidents.
Over 2,300 women and girls were saved by Disha. The police explained that the immediate response time after receiving the report from the victims has also reduced significantly. Officials also said that they are reaching in 5 minutes in urban areas and 14 minutes in rural areas. about 250 calls were received every day, of which 10 are actionable calls.the investigation time has gradually reduced due to the programs undertaken through Disha.
The officials further said that the investigation of the case was completed in 99 days in 2020, 56 days in 2021, 47 days in 2022 and 44 days in 2023. Charge sheets also are filed in 94 percent of POCSO cases within 60 days and speedily investigating cases of sexual abuse of children and filing chargesheets. Strict punishments were given to the accused after Disha came into force and heavy punishments were also imposed against the accused. A total of 80 persons were given strict punishments through the initiative.
As many as 1,415 cases have been registered after starting zero FIR concept, the officials said, adding that it is increasing every year. So far there are 18 officials and steps should take taken to set up Disha Police Station in other places as well. He also made it clear that there will be no compromise in the matter of women’s protection, directing the officials to set up a state-of-the-art forensic lab.
On narcotics, the Chief Minister has directed the officials to continuously monitor on the prevention of ganja and drugs, besides paying special attention to the prevention of cannabis cultivation. He also asked the officials to continue drills regularly and provide support to them for cultivation of alternative crops. A toll-free number hoarding should set up for drug prevention in every university and college in the state. Counseling for students and their parents is very important in narcotics cases, he said.
Quality is important in the resolution of applications coming under Spandana. Officials should also gear up themselves for Jagananku Chebudam program on May 9 to resolve the petitions and petitions in the highest quality. Besides that officials should also focus on effective implementation of GO No 1.
Home Minister T Vanitha, Chief Secretary Dr KS Jawahar Reddy and other higher officials were also present.
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