The abduction and sexual assault of the 22-year-old woman at night has raised concern about safety in the city.
All through her two-hour ordeal in Fraser Town, not one policeman passed by. This, despite the city police recently strengthening its fleet by adding 70 patrol vehicles after the deadline for nightlife was extended during weekends.
‘Abhaya’, a system of patrolling exclusively dedicated to women’s safety in the city and manned by only women police has lost its steam. Flagged off in January 2013, after the gang-rape of a law student on the Jnana Bharathi campus in 2012, the system has become ineffective.
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“While one vehicle has been allotted to each of the seven police divisions in the city, they have now being used as quick response vehicles in cases where women are in distress. Patrolling has been taken over by the regular Hoysala vehicles,” said Kamal Pant, Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order).
Also what is of concern is that very few women police are on duty in the city during the night. Also, there have been instances where policemen have been accused of inappropriate behaviour towards women in the night.
There has also been a spurt in abductions and robberies during the night. Recently, two businessmen going in cars were abducted, assaulted and robbed.
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Mr. Pant said there was a severe shortage of human resource in the commissionerate. He said that while the sanctioned strength (17,000, including 2,500 traffic policemen) was itself insufficient to police the city efficiently, 3,000 posts were vacant.
The police are now considering roping in Home Guards to help them in night patrolling.