Home Minister G. Parameshwara has sought reports from police authorities in Uttara Kannada and Ballari districts following statements by two women police sub-inspectors (PSIs) that raise questions on the treatment of women in the department.
Revati, PSI at Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada, has resigned alleging that her seniors were not allowing her to discharge her duties, while Gayathri Farhan, PSI at Ballari, wrote on Facebook about the odds against which women in Police Department work. A few months ago, Anupama Shenoy, Deputy SP of Kudligi, quit alleging political interference.
‘Forced to resign’In her letter dated August 28 to Home Minister, Ms. Revati alleged she was “forced to resign from the job” because of harassment and pressure of Assistant Superintendent of Police Anoop Shetty. However, IGP (Western Range) J. Arun Chakravathy said she had tendered her resignation just as she was served with order of suspension for alleged dereliction of duty in not acting on the complaint of extortion filed by a businessman.
Ms. Revati argued, on the contrary, that she had found the complainant to be involved in hawala transactions. Ms. Farhan from Ballari, in her Facebook post dated August 26, said: “It is difficult for people to accept women as officers... Though women work hard, their hard work is not recognised like that of men in the department. Working 24/7 in the department has gone in vain... It is difficult for a woman to prove her existence in society and in professional life…”
When contacted, Ms. Farhan said what she had written was only to highlight the “general plight of a working woman” and she had no specific grouses.
