It took 5 months to Home Deptt, PHQ to notify jurisdiction of 5 Women Police Stns

Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, May 23: In a testimony of slackness in handling important subjects, it took five months to the Home Department and Police Headquarters to notify the jurisdiction of five Women Police Stations sanctioned by the State Cabinet keeping in view of rising crime against the womenfolk. However, process to make recruitments against the posts sanctioned for these Police Stations has yet not reached the logical conclusion and functioning is being managed through internal arrangements only.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that on the directions of the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, the Home Department last year prepared a proposal for creation of five Women Police Stations—two each in Kashmir and Jammu and one in Leh district and the same was cleared by the State Cabinet vide Decision No.234/13/2017 dated December 21, 2017. The Cabinet even accorded sanction for creation of 52 posts for each of these five Women Police Stations.
On the very next day, the Home Department came out with two different Government Orders regarding creation of one Women Police Station in the districts of Pulwama, Kupwara, Kathua, Doda and Leh. It was specifically mentioned in both the orders that Home Department will separately notify the jurisdiction of these Women Police Stations in consultation with the Police Headquarters in the shortest possible time.
However, it took five months to the Home Department and Police Headquarters to complete the exercise as notification regarding jurisdiction of newly created Women Police Stations was issued yesterday only. “During the past five months confusion was prevailing over the actual jurisdiction of these Women Police Stations and others which were created earlier”, sources said.
“Notification of jurisdiction should have been issued within days of the Cabinet approval keeping in view the urgency shown by the Chief Minister in establishment of Women Police Stations and to avoid confusion at the level of these and already created Women Police Stations”, sources said.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (O) of Sub-Section (1) of Section 4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure read with Rule 469 of the Jammu and Kashmir Police Rules, 1960 and in partial modification of SRO-69 dated February 22, 2017, the Government hereby notifies the territorial jurisdiction of all Women Police Stations to register and investigate offences where victims approach directly”, read SRO-226 dated May 22, 2018 issued by R K Goyal, Principal Secretary to Government, Home Department.
It has also been mentioned in the notification that all these Women Police Stations will also have jurisdiction to investigate several offences on a reference made by the concerned District Superintendent of Police.
As per the SRO, Jammu Women Police Station will have jurisdiction over Jammu and Samba districts while as Kathua Women Police Station will have jurisdiction over only one district (Kathua). Similarly, Udhampur Women Police Station will cover Udhampur and Reasi districts while as Doda Women Police Station will have jurisdiction over Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts.
Srinagar Women Police Station will have territorial jurisdiction over Srinagar, Ganderbal and Bugam districts while as Leh Women Police Station will have jurisdiction over Leh and Kargil districts. Anantnag and Kulgam will fall under the jurisdiction of Anantnag Women Police Station while as Pulwama and Shopian will fall under Pulwama Women Police Station.
Similarly, Baramulla Women Police Station will have jurisdiction over Baramulla and Bandipora districts and Police District Sopore while as Kupwara Women Police Station will have jurisdiction over Kupwara district and Police District Handwara.
The offences to be dealt by all these Women Police Stations include eve-teasing, outraging modesty of women, kidnapping and abduction of womenfolk, rape, making gesture intended to insult the modesty of a woman, cruelty to women, abetment to commit suicide, exploitation of a trafficked person etc.
“Though newly created Women Police Stations have been made functional yet they don’t have manpower as was sanctioned by the State Cabinet at the time of their creation”, sources said, adding “the functioning of these Women Police Stations is being managed through internal arrangements as process to make recruitment against the posts created by the Cabinet has yet not reached the logical conclusion”.

Follow our WhatsApp channel