“This is the first time I’m hearing about it”, said a sub inspector of police at a police station in city limits. In another station, the SI had heard about them but had no idea what they were doing. Yet another SI said that no such volunteer had been in touch with him. A sub-inspector aware of Nirbhaya volunteers did not have much opinion about their contribution to policing. There were, however, a few officers who found something positive on Nirbhaya too. Circle Inspector of Police, Palluruthy, V.G. Raveendranath, told The Hindu that while he found the initiative of some volunteers good, he said that they need to be in more numbers to make a difference.
Community policing and house visits could be the best way to get into the issues to sort it out. P.G. Lawrence, SI, Harbour police station, who is all praise for the volunteers, added that women from all economic strata should be part of the network.
There are many issues that the women can handle without making the family or the people getting bogged down with the “police” attitude.
