DGP Gautam Sawang objects to use of Mahila Police for non-police jobs

Amaravati: Exposing a clear friction between the police and other departments over utilising the services of Mahila Police (women constables) attached to the village and ward secretariats, Andhra Pradesh DGP D Gautam Sawang took exception to the instructions being issued without the consent of his department.

The DGP wrote a two-page letter to Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das, Special Chief Secretary (Village and Ward Secretariats) Ajay Jain and objected to the instructions, being issued by District Collectors, mandal parishad development officers and panchayat secretaries, to Mahila Police and utilising their services for various other department-related jobs.

"These jobs and tasks are essentially non-police jobs," the DGP pointed out in the letter. Close to 15,000 women were appointed by the District Collectors in the village and ward secretariats that were newly created by the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government in July 2019 and called women protection secretaries (WPS).

Apart from duties related to the Home Department, the women protection secretaries were also assigned the responsibilities of Women Development and Child Welfare Department and also Anganwadi services. On June 23, this year, the State government designated the 'Grama Mahila Samrakshana Karyadarsi/Ward Mahila Samrakshana Karyadarsi' as 'Mahila Police', treating them as equal to lady constables.

Mahila Police will be the representative of the nearest police station for the village, the June 23 order said. "In compliance with the government orders, Station House Officers are assigning jobs and eliciting tasks as envisaged in the job chart to the Mahila Police like Disha downloads, vulnerability mapping, formation of Mahila groups, awareness campaigns on women related issues, protecting scene of offence, watch over social evils, etc. Such duties and responsibilities are likely to further increase in their scope encompassing police duties in due course once their formal training and orientation programme is completed," the DGP said in the letter.

Sawang said contradictory instructions issued by other functional heads were creating confusion among Mahila Police ranks and thereby the assigned tasks related to police were being dislocated and not being performed as desired.

"This is also leading to disruption in the smooth process of ongoing integration and assimilation of the Mahila Police into the Police Department as mandated by the GO," the police chief noted.

The DGP requested the Chief Secretary to issue necessary directions to the field officers concerned not to issue any instructions or engage Mahila Police without the consent of the police department.

"If the services of Mahila Police are required or found essential for any State-sponsored programmes, I may be addressed by the heads of departments concerned," Sawang said. "An early action in this regard is highly solicited," he added.