Shillong, Jun 18: Meghalaya Police are working to make its Women Help Desks more accessible by introducing a system under which women facing violence can report incidents from their homes.
The initiative, announced by the Director General of Police (DGP) Idashisha Nongrang today, is part of a broader effort by the department to improve its response to crimes against women and children after reviewing the effectiveness of previous awareness campaigns.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Nyaya Sanhita Exhibition here, Nongrang said the police had assessed past programmes and found that some had not achieved the desired outcomes.
“We have done an audit of what we had done earlier and where we have failed,” she said, adding that the department is now focusing on more targeted interventions.
One of the measures involves working closely with ASHA workers, who often serve as the first point of contact in communities. According to the DGP, the programme has already been rolled out in six districts. She said ASHA workers have a much wider reach at the grassroots level and are often among the first responders in cases involving women and children.
The department is also testing a system that allows victims to contact a helpline instead of travelling to a police station. Under the proposed arrangement, police personnel would visit the complainant, record the First Information Report (FIR) and initiate further action.
“It is still at an early stage, but we are trying to make the process easier and more accessible,” Nongrang said.
The DGP also highlighted growing concerns over cyberbullying among students. She said police have been conducting awareness sessions in schools, focusing not only on physical bullying but also on online harassment.
On cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Nongrang acknowledged challenges in completing investigations within prescribed timelines, citing delays in obtaining DNA and forensic science laboratory reports.
She said another challenge arises when victims turn hostile during trial proceedings, making prosecutions more difficult despite police completing investigations and filing charge sheets.
Responding to questions on a clerical error in court documents related to the Sonam Raghuvanshi murder case, the DGP said the mistake was limited to a single document and that the correct legal provisions had been cited in other records, including those related to transit remand. She added that the state is challenging the court order granting bail in the case.
On recent incidents along the India-Bangladesh border in Garo Hills, where individuals were reportedly left in no man’s land, Nongrang said Meghalaya Police is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with the Border Security Force (BSF) and other agencies.
