Women help desks in police stations a cosmetic superficial gimmick: Sushmita Dev

December 6: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sanctioned Rs.100 crores from Nirbhaya Fund for setting up and strengthening Women Help Desks across police stations in states and Union Territories. The women help desks were supposed to have lady police officers, lawyers, psychologists and officials of NGOs. Apart from providing protection to women, the help desks were also to provide them legal aid, counselling, shelter, rehabilitation among others.

Taking to twitter, former Silchar MP and All India Mahila Congress (AIMC) President, Sushmita Dev criticised this move of the centre. Ms. Dev wrote, “Will the rape victims make it alive to the help desk ? Two incidents of burning them tells us otherwise. What kind of cosmetic superficial gimmick is this ???”

Will the rape victims make it alive to the help desk ? Two incidents of burning them tells us otherwise.

What kind of cosmetic superficial gimmick is this ??? https://t.co/DrBXKZKign

— Sushmita Dev (@sushmitadevinc) December 6, 2019

The move by the centre in setting up Women Help Desks across police stations came a fortnight after a young veterinarian was gang-raped and murdered near Hyderabad, leading to protests in different parts of the country.