Domestic violence tops chart of crimes against women in Ggn

Gurugram: Exploitation and domestic violence against women for dowry is still a reality in a city that has the third highest per capita income in the country. While the city has seen a sharp increase in sexual crimes that involve rapes and molestation, domestic violence still tops the list of crimes against women. In the last six months, there have been more than 170 incidents of domestic violence that have been registered at the women police station of Sector-51 and is being followed by other major crimes like molestation and rapes.

Worryingly, this trend is not just visible across the rural parts of the city but is also prevalent in urban parts and posh localities. Recently a case was registered with the city police where a woman complainant has alleged that her NRI husband tried to sodomise and attempted murder because of the ongoing property dispute between them. The matter is still under investigation. Senior police officials highlight that domestic violence and eve- teasing are the highest form of complaints that are being registered and is a bigger challenge for its personnel. According to the police, long legal process and personal issues prevent women from lodging formal complaints at police stations.

To tackle the issue of domestic violence and eve teasing, Gurugram Police officials have donned the role of counsellors. The role of the Police counsellors is to hold consultations with the couples affected by domestic violence and advise them towards a happy married life. There are twelve police officials who are employed as counsellors. Besides being counsellors, they also perform their regular police duties. At a formal ceremony held to celebrate the completion of two years of the women police station, officials enlightened on how counselling proved to be a useful tool in mending the ties of broken families. "Domestic violence is still a major challenge across the city. We receive many complaints of domestic violence across different police stations on a routine basis. The inability of women to file complaints resulted in the opening of counselling units. We have counselled people across different socio-economic backgrounds, ranging from rickshaw pullers to people from the elite business class. However, counselling units should not give an impression that we will be soft on the culprits," said a senior official of Gurugram Police.