Karnataka will have more all-women police stations: Dr G Parameshwar

Bengaluru: Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwar said on Monday that more all-woman police stations will be announced in the coming state budget. After inaugurating ‘Gender Sensitive Best Practices, Implementations & Capacity Building of Police Officials’, a two-day training programme for trainers, at the city Police Commissioner’s office, he said, “Everybody needs to be gender sensitised in today’s scenario. Not only the policemen, everybody, irrespective of their age and profession, needs to be aware of this. No city is safe unless women in that city feel safe,” he said.

Recalling the incidents during the New Year’s Eve on Brigade Road, he said, “There were absolutely no reports about any such incidents for two days. But later, the image of the city was dented by reports of mass molestation in a newspaper. The police verified footage recorded by over 80 security cameras, but they could not find a single piece of evidence. But the damage was already done. We, the administrators, would absolve it, but what about the womenfolk in the city? They would not feel safe in the city and it needs several months for them to feel safe. The media should also be careful while reporting such things,” he said.

He said that the state already has 28 all-woman police stations and the government will announce more such stations in the state budget. “The government is also keen on recruiting more women staff to the police department. We have reserved 20 per cent for women in all recruitments in the department,” he said.

City Police Commissioner Praveen Sood requested the Hanns Seidel Foundation, which sponsored the event, to extend the gender sensitisation programme for prosecutors as well, as women in distress also have to meet them during court trials. Director General and Inspector General of Police R.K. Dutta, Director of Centre for Social Research Dr. Ranjana Kumari and others were present.

Foreign students: Colleges to be made accountable for slipup
To prevent foreign students from overstaying in the country, the state government is thinking of making educational institutions accountable for the slipup. Meanwhile, police are gathering information on overstaying immigrants and are taking up the matter with the consulates concerned.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event here on Monday, Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwar said the government is taking steps to keep tabs on overstaying immigrants.

“Many come on student visas and stay here even after completing education. Some just register with colleges and involve in other activities. There is no proper mechanism to keep tabs on them. We are thinking of making colleges responsible. In many countries, it’s the educational institutions that take responsibility for foreign students. Even here, we are thinking along those lines and we will come up with a plan soon,” he said.

Dealing with overstaying immigrants is not completely in the hands of the state government. “It is the Union Government that has to decide on it. But we are doing our duty and are identifying overstaying immigrants. Once the process is complete, we will take up the issue with the consulates concerned,” the home minister said.