: The Delhi Police are roping in housewives to serve as its ‘eyes and ears’ and report about domestic violence, suppressed cases of sexual abuse and street crimes.
In the initiative called ‘Operation Veerangana’, the Central District police has decided to train dozens of housewives to spot and report crimes taking place in their immediate neighbourhood.
If deemed successful, the operation will be rolled out in all districts in the Capital, said a senior police officer.
The police are particularly targeting housewives because of their belief that these women are the “silent observers” and that their active involvement in “community-based exercises” will come handy.
Parmaditya, DCP (Central), said that during their interaction with people in their neighbourhood, the housewives often hear of sexual abuse or domestic violence — most of which do not get reported — taking place within the four walls of a home.
Moreover, the police believe that victims are more likely to open up with housewives with whom they frequently interact. Police claim that quite a few crimes, including murders, have been solved because of “sharp observations” of women.
“The selected women volunteering for us will be trained to judge whether the revelations qualify as a crime and then gather further necessary details about it before informing us about it,” Mr. Parmaditya told The Hindu .
Police will then contact the victims and attempt to take them into confidence.
“We will try to convince the victims to allow us to pursue legal action against the perpetrators,” the officer said.
The police are hoping that in terms of cooperation from the victims, ‘Operation Veerangana’ will receive the same response that another initiative ‘Operation Nirbheek’ has been receiving.
Under ‘Operation Nirbheek’, police’s interaction with lakhs of school students has led to dozens of girls coming forward with shocking revelations about sexual abuse by family members, teachers or unknown persons.
Apart from sexual crimes and domestic violence within homes, the housewives will also keep an eye on street crimes such as eve-teasing, molestations, etc.
“The selected women will be imparted a 15-day training in self-defence. But their actual role will not involve physical confrontations or other risks,” said another senior officer associated with the exercise.
Silent observers
On the occasion of Women’s Day last Tuesday, the police began the process of shortlisting 250 such women.
While housewives are priority because of their perceived strengths, working women and students too would be roped in depending on their inclination.
The selected women will be added to a WhatsApp group that will have the DCP as the administrator.
The members will be encouraged to post in the group pictures or videos of certain crimes, but for reporting sensitive ones, they will be required to make phone calls to the local SHO.
In addition, the local police will hold a fortnightly meeting with these women. Based on the response received, more women will be roped in.
A handful of housewives are already being used as undercover detectives by the Mumbai Police to nab rapists and molesters.
In Delhi, private detective agencies employ many housewives as detectives because of their ability to investigate without drawing attention.
