Pics: Abhijith N Kolpe
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (ANK)
Mangaluru, Apr 30: Mangaluru city Police commissioner Sandeep Patil flagged off 'Rani Abbakka women force' at City Centre in the city on Tuesday, April 30. The Rani Abbakka force is initiated by the Mangaluru police department, which will safeguard women and children of the city against violence.
Rani Abbakka force will be led by its inspector Srikala. The force consists of 50 women police. Every team consists of five members. They will be deployed in the malls, beaches, religious places and where there is crowd to restrain the violence against women and children.
Speaking on the occasion Sandeep Patil said, "Today we are launching Rani Abbakka force in the city, which consists of 50 women police. They will be deployed in malls, religious places, crowded areas, beaches and at functions during the weekend to control the violence against the women,”
"We also have women police stations. If any woman victim is not comfortable to share their problems with men police personnel, they can approach these forces and can complain with them. Mangaluru is a tourist place where several tourists face problems like stalking, eve-teasing etc. So to control such hooligans, we have flagged off Rani Abbakka force.” he added.
DCP Law and order Hanumantharaya, DCP crime and traffic Laxmi Ganesh and others were present.
Similar initiatives have already been taken in other police departments across Karnataka. Recently Belagavi police department launched ‘Chennama Force’ and Chitradurga police launched ‘Obavva Force’. These special units specifically aim at safeguarding women and children of the area.
Recently, Udupi too received ‘Rani Abbakka Force’ which was flagged off by Udupi SP Nisha James. Chandrashekhar, during his reign in the police department, had formulated the idea of ‘Rani Abbakka Force’ two years ago. The force will mostly be manned by female officers who will be placed near schools and colleges, public places and bus stops. The officers will be taking action against hooligans who indulge in eve-teasing, making lewd comments and behaving in an indecent manner. Along with the female SI, there will be three other officers plus one male officer in each team.
Rani Abbakka Chowta was the first Tuluva Queen of Ullal who fought the Portuguese in the 16th century. Hence the department has borrowed this name for their female police force.