Cases filed under IPC Section 498 A and Domestic Violence Act are on the rise in the city. The Women Protection Cell that handles all such cases has been recording at least 145 cases per month on an average.
In this year, the cell has received about 1,070 cases so far, compared to 1,200 cases in 2014.
According to Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP- Women Cell) T. Papa Rao, the couples approaching the cell are mostly young or NRIs, and most them are bogged down by petty issues.
ADVERTISEMENT
According to the ACP, the cell has three stages of counselling process. In the first two stages, we have trained personnel to counsel the couple. For further counselling, we send them to a professional centre, which is operated by Andhra University or to the counselling centre run by the District Legal Services Authorities.
Basically, the complaints that come in are categorised under two sections: one, where there is marital discord due to lack of coordination between educated couple and, second, where there is dowry harassment or other disputes.
In the first instance, most of the cases are due to ego problems. In the second category, the problems arise due dowry harassment, alcoholism, extra-marital affairs, or financial disputes.
ADVERTISEMENT
According to a senior officer from the cell, many of problems can be solved amicably at home. But despite that they approach us.
“And in many of the cases, we have seen that Section 498 A has been misused,” he said.
“The section was incorporated in the IPC to act as a protective cover for women. But there are instances of it being misused. And that is one reason for the rise in the 498 A cases,” he said.
As per a finding of the Women Protection Cell of AU, many of the marital discords were due to the couples not opting for children.