Hyderabad police lacks women power

Hyderabad: The Telangana state home department had fixed 30 per cent reservation for women in the police. However, only 14 per cent of vacancies have been occupied to date. 

Across 200 police stations in Greater Hyderabad, the total women police force is close to 500, most of them at the constable and head constable rank. 

The turn-out at the recruitment camps for women police is heavy but many of them are not able to clear the tests and get selected. The city police came under fire for not deploying women police personnel at Friday’s  protest at Gun Park, where an ACP was accused of inappropriately touching a woman.

A senior officer told this newspaper, "Women constables were part of the enforcement team that curbed the protest led by Professor Haragopal at Gun Park on Friday, the CCTV footage stands as proof to it. However, the police did not anticipate the three women who broke in towards the end of the protest."

However, the officer asserted that the present staff strength is insufficient to tackle any sudden protest. "We seek women power from surrounding police station in case of protests. The system also requires coordination and communication between stations to act wisely in such conditions. Currently, though the number of women cops is fewer, the shortage is not a concern. However, it is always desirable to have more women force,” the officer said.