Saving Families Off-Records: Prayagraj Women Cops Counselled & Resolved Over 500 Family Conflicts

Police stations in Prayagraj have turned into counselling centres for many families on the verge of separation. Women police officers of the district have been putting commendable efforts into talking with families and getting them to reconsider filing first investigation reports (FIR).

Their consistent efforts brought positive results, with over 500 families reuniting in the past 11 months in Prayagraj. About 70 per cent of the total cases attended by the women officers were resolved without any FIRs being filed.

Saving Families Off The Ledger

Going the extra mile to resolve people's concerns, the police officers made active efforts to counsel the complainants and find a solution instead of filing an FIR right away. The police station in charge, Punam Shukla, said that they had received a total of 693 disputes over the last 11 months, out of which 528 were sorted out at the police station level itself. The remaining 165 cases were forwarded to the Lok Adalat (public court) for disposal. Furthermore, FIRs were filed only for 92 cases.

The number of complaints being turned into FIRs has reduced over the past few years and reflects upon a trend of approachability established by these stations. Prior to 2018, many of the complaints of women in the district were received at the woman's police station in Civil Lines. It was only later on that a women-specific help desk was set up at all police stations. These help desks played a key role in resolving issues before they aggravated further.

Nature Of Cases

Most cases that the officers attended involved domestic violence, triple talaq threats, scuffles over petty issues, dowry demands, and rape allegations after live-in relationships. A report by the Hindustan Times quoted a woman officer saying, "Relations in all such cases were on the verge of separation, but the officers patiently counselled them and saved families from splitting up."

In cases where a partner was found guilty, the officers often threatened them with FIR and prison time to ensure they knew the consequences of their actions. Their intervention resolved many such cases right within the station level. The officers also shed light upon some of the common cases they constantly come across.

About 22 couples who wanted to separate had approached them with the reasoning that the distance was taking a toll on their relationship. Multiple women also complained of neglect from their partner, extramarital affairs, and similar concerns, which were resolved through effective counselling. On a more intense level, there were occasional cases of triple talaq threats and harassment by husbands and in-laws over dowry demands.

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