The QRT, which would function under the Women Cell -- a new unit in the Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD) -- will deal with complaints of crime against women right away, said Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Geeta Upreti, chief of the cell. [break]
Response to crime against women has never been so prioritized in the half-century long history of institutionalized policing in Nepal. Except for the women cell under every District Police Office, there is hardly anything else to deal with crimes against women. The only women cell with a wider jurisdiction including a right to prosecution is in Kalimati.
“We need a more effective and resourceful mechanism to respond to women´s complaints,” said DSP Upreti, who was the first in-charge of Kalimati Women Cell established one-and-a-half decade ago.
Nepal Police usually receives such complaints through its hotline (100) or acts on written complaints through its local units. The hotline handles a majority of complaints, which, however, has also been under fire for oversight in many cases.
The proposed QRT will have smart logistics, and human resources to be deployed round-the-clock. “Our focus will be to reach the scene immediately and rescue the victim,” said Upreti.
Upreti added that a special hotline would be installed before launching an extensive awareness campaign to sensitize women in making use of the QRT facility.
MPCD had formed the Women Cell last month to intensify investigations into violence against women. “This includes crime against women, crime in which women are offenders or used as a means,” said Inspector Dipti Karki.
“Modern policing tackles the involvement of women in crime in a specialized manner,” said MPCD chief Rana Bahadur Chand. “A particular cell dealing with women, who are either offenders or victims, facilitates investigations.”
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