IGP proposes upgrading women police stations across Sindh

The Sindh police chief has proposed that the home department reassign the existing women police stations across the province to control incidents of violence against women as well as children, The News has learnt.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) AD Khowaja has also taken up the matter with Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who has reportedly welcomed the proposal and sought a pro forma for the purpose.

The IGP recently wrote a letter to the home department for reassigning women police stations as women & children police stations in each range and zone of the Sindh police as well as for increasing the strength of police personnel.

The text of the letter refers to the decision taken during a meeting chaired by the chief minister on the subject, and requests that women police stations be established in each range and zone of the province.

“Keeping in view the rising trend of crimes against children and cases of child abuse, it is imperative to establish dedicated police stations for such a vulnerable segment of society to provide dedicated reporting and investigative facilities,” reads the letter.

“In order to meet the requirement urgently, it was decided during the said meeting that as an initial step, women police stations already working at range and zone level may be renamed as ‘women & children police stations’ with appointing additional staff to cope with the expected magnitude of work.”

The letter also mentions the present sanctioned strength of each women police station: an inspector, an assistant sub-inspector (ASI), a head constable and 27 police constables in Karachi Range’s South Zone; two sub-inspectors, an ASI and 15 PCs in the West Zone and zero female officials in the East Zone.

As for the position of interior Sindh, the letter says an SI, three ASIs, an HC and 17 PCs are posted in Hyderabad; 30 officials including 28 PCs in Mirpurkhas; 66 including an SI in Shaheed Benazirabad and 14 including an inspector, two SIs and three ASIs in Larkana.

The IGP proposes the following strength for each women & children police station: 200 officials (four inspectors, eight SIs, 16 ASIs, 50 HCs and 122 PCs) in East, West and South zones of the Karachi Range. He proposes similar strengths for Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkur and Larkana ranges.

Khowaja further states that the additional staff to post in these police stations would be adjusted from the available resources of the ranges and zones, assuring the home department that the new recruitment would not have any additional financial implications.

However, as the staff and investigation in cases against women and children needs to be specialised, it is important to post and retain willing and experienced officials for this sensitive task, he adds.

Therefore, for motivating police officers and personnel posted at women & children police stations, the IGP proposes an incentive of one basic pay of fiscal year 2017-2018 as an “additional allowance”.

He requests that the proposal regarding reassigning existing women police stations as women & children police stations with the proposed manpower and provision of additional allowance amounting to one basic pay may be moved to the provincial government for approval. The request is currently under consideration.