Guwahati: The Assam Police Department launched “Special Cells for Women and Community Approach” in ten districts across the state on Wednesday.
Director General of Police (DGP) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta established the cell for police stations in the districts of Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Nagaon, Kamrup (Rural), Karbi Anglong, Cachar, Barpeta, Kokrajhar, and Dhubri.
These Special Cells would be manned by Social Workers, Counsellors, and State Coordinators from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), which signed an MoU with the Assam Government represented by the Assam Police, Home Department, and Department of Social Welfare.
The Special Cells will provide a safe haven for abused women to receive emotional and social assistance through high-quality psychiatric, social, and legal services from full-time social workers within the criminal justice system (CJS).
The needs and concerns of survivors of violence will be handled in a welcoming setting as these Special Cells will operate from Sadar Police Stations in the said districts.
The TISS cooperated with the US Agency for International Development’s MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership: India-Yash directed by Jhpiego and the Child in Need Institute (CINI) to operate these special cells for two years,
DGP Mahanta said that state police are committed to combating crimes against women and children and are efficiently battling gender-based violence.
He also emphasised the necessity for a multidisciplinary strategy to combat this threat, “police, NGOs, the Department of Social Welfare and the Department of the Interior, as well as other stakeholders, must work together to address the issue,” he said.