This Telangana IPS officer has set up a ‘mobile safety’ vehicle to help domestic violence victims during COVID-19
Prompted by a domestic violence case, Mahbubnagar district's Superintendent of Police Rema Rajeshwari started a ‘mobile safety’ vehicle for victims to seek aid instantly.
The coronavirus lockdown forced many individuals inside their homes. Since most of them did not have a choice but to stay indoors all day with their spouse and families, several cases of domestic violence started pouring in from across the country.
According to a report shared by the National Commission for Women, instances of domestic violence almost doubled since the outbreak of the pandemic in March this year.
Mahbubnagar's Superintendent of Police, Rema Rajeshwari.
Image credit: Humans of Bombay/Facebook
This propelled Telangana's Mahbubnagar district's Superintendent of Police Rema Rajeshwari to start a ‘mobile safety’ vehicle to help victims of domestic abuse.
Speaking about the initiative to Humans of Bombay, the officer said that a few days ago, a woman from Kanpur called her and was worried about her sister. The woman also disclosed that her sister's husband would hit her regularly.
“We sent a dispatch team and found her in such a terrible condition that it shook me. She was badly bruised, hadn't had a single drop of water in three days, and was writhing in pain,” said the SP.
After the rescue, the police rushed her to the hospital for treatment. She later took the step of filing a case against her husband, The Logical Indian reported.
“That incident was an eye-opener — there were so many victims of domestic violence living with their abusers, and they couldn't even file a complaint,” Rajeshwari said.
To help many other women in similar crises, Rema set up a mobile safety vehicle so that domestic violence survivors can reach out for assistance instead of holding back and waiting for a miracle.
“To extend a helping hand, I established ‘Mobile Safety’— a vehicle with my team members doing rounds across the district. In two weeks, we had 40 cases! Alongside, more members of my team stepped up to help the general populace,” explained Rajeshwari.
Besides this, Rajeshwari and her team also started setting up food banks along the highways to provide food and water to the migrants walking back to their home, NDTV reported.
“Once the railways finally opened, we helped 11,000 workers reach home in under 15 days. My team has put their lives at stake to help people” she said.
Since the time the police officer shared the post on August 6, it has garnered over 38,000 likes on Instagram, and another 18,000 on Facebook.
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Edited by Suman Singh
