2.31 lakh complaints on women help desk of Punjab Police, big step for safety of women and children

Punjab Women Safety: Maintaining its commitment towards women’s safety, the women help desks set up by Punjab Police have received widespread public support across the state. A total of 2,31,677 complaints related to crimes against women and children have been received through these help desks. The state police has set up women help desks in all 424 police stations, including 39 special purpose police stations.

1,33,152 complaints related to crimes against women and children were received through the Punjab Grievance Disposal (PGD) portal from January 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026. Of these, 99,692 complaints (74.8 percent) were resolved by Punjab Police Mahila Mitras.

Recently, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has approved 93 electric scooters for women police personnel working under Mahila Mitra Initiative and Women Help Desks across the state.

These electric scooters were recently flagged off by Punjab Police DGP Gaurav Yadav. The objective of this initiative is to enable women police personnel to reach every area of ​​the state and resolve the complaints of women and children more effectively.

Speaking on the occasion, DGP Gaurav Yadav said, “This initiative has significantly improved the reach of police services to women, ensured gender-sensitive policing, strengthened public confidence and enabled timely intervention in cases involving weaker sections of the society.

Women’s help desks have transformed police stations into safer and accessible places for women. A total of 848 Punjab Police Mahila Mitras have been deployed in 424 police stations, which is a proof of the increasing public confidence in the Punjab Police. Punjab Police has adopted a comprehensive and community-centric approach to strengthen women’s safety by setting up women’s help desks in every police station in the state.

Before the introduction of the Women’s Help Desk, complaints related to women and children were dealt with mainly by male police personnel. With an aim to provide a more comfortable, sensitive and victim-centric environment for filing complaints, Punjab Police launched the Punjab Police Mahila Mitra (PPMM) Project in the year 2021.

Under this initiative, 848 Punjab Police Mahila Mitras have been specially deployed to resolve complaints related to women, children and senior citizens.

Additionally, Punjab Police is currently operating 10 Mahila Police Stations and 15 Mahila Help Centers in the state, which provide specialized assistance in cases related to crimes against women. These centers provide a safe and confidential environment to women, where they can lodge their complaints and receive assistance without any hesitation. These centers, run by trained women police personnel, provide sensitive hearing of complaints, counselling, legal guidance and necessary support services.

DGP Gaurav Yadav further said, “The availability of dedicated women officers has increased the confidence of victimized women to approach the police, which has led to an increase in reporting of gender-based crimes and better assistance to victims.

Punjab Police has not only set up women help desks in every police station, but has also initiated an evaluation process in collaboration with NGOs J-PAL and Hartek Foundation to assess their utility and impact.

Gurpreet Deo, SDG, Community and Women Affairs, said, “These help desks have helped in bridging the gap between the police and common citizens and instilled confidence among the victims that they will get proper assistance from trained and sensitive women police officers.