‘Pink Protection’: Kerala Police’s new project for women’s safety

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala police launched a new project called ‘Pink Protection’ to protect women in public, private and online spaces. Ten cars, 40 two-wheelers, including Bullet bikes and 20 bicycles were allocated for the project, which was flagged off by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The ‘Pink Protection’ project aims to prevent dowry-related issues, cyber-bullying, and humiliation in public spaces. This project consists of 10 components, one of which is the activation of the Pink Police Patrol system.

In ‘Pink Janamaithri Beat’, police officials will conduct regular house visits to collect information regarding domestic violence. They will collect information from panchayat members, neighbours and other residents and pass it along to the Station House Officers for further action.

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Specially trained women police officers will be present at the bus stops of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and private buses as well as in front of schools, colleges, and other public places. In all 14 districts, pink control rooms have been set up to coordinate activities.

Moreover, the ‘Pink Shadow Patrol’ team will detect anti-social behavior in crowded areas and take action. As part of the project, a bullet patrol team of women police officers called ‘Pink Romeo’ was also formed.

Anil Kant, the Director General of Police (DGP) and other senior police officers from the Kerala Police attended the function at the Kerala Police headquarters.

‘Women police officers will do daily patrolling in cars, two-wheelers and bicycles. If we receive a domestic violence complaint, we will conduct patrols daily and conduct periodic reviews,’ the DGP said.

Anju, a civil officer said, ‘There are a lot of people who are suffering from problems which cannot be revealed to anyone. The aim of this project is to reach out to such people, listen to their problems, make them aware and provide basic legal help to ensure women’s safety.’

She explained the new project, ‘This is an extension of Janamaithri Beat. We will visit each community and establish a friendly relationship with the people, empowering the community to voice any concerns they have. We will do regular patrolling, so we will begin as soon as possible.’