Pune Police Forms 17 Squads For Women’s Safety At Crowded Places, Previous Initiatives To Be Resumed 

Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 27th September 2021: For the safety of women in the city, Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta has ordered the resumption of the Buddy Cop, Police Kaka, Police Didi and Damini squad initiatives started earlier by the Pune Police.

Also, a more comprehensive plan will be implemented to give priority to the safety of women. In addition, 17 police squads have been set up for visible policing in crowded places.

A crime review meeting was held at the Commissionerate on Monday. At that time, the Commissioner of Police instructed the heads of all police stations to be vigilant about women’s safety.

This month there has been two cases of kidnapping of minor girls from public places and they were sexually abused. It raised question mark over the safety of women in the city.

The Damini squad, which is already functional, will now work in two teams. 17 squads have been formed to patrol in police uniforms. A squad will patrol the jurisdiction of two police stations on a two-wheeler. The second squad will be headed by the Crime Branch staff in plainclothes and will interact with students in schools and colleges.

Police Kaka and Police Didi teams have been instructed to implement the scheme comprehensively. They will act as point of contact for school children in their area.

The buddy cop initiative for working women will be re-launched on a large scale. Through that, more efforts will be made for the safety of women.

Damini Squad was formed in 2015 during the tenure of then Police Commissioner KK Pathak. Buddy Cop, Police Kaka and Police Didi initiatives were started by former Police Commissioner Rashmi Shukla in 2017.