The new police chief assures support to Snehalaya (Dec 2005)

Ahmednagar 17/12/2005

      Mr. Sunil B. Ramanand, the newly appointed district police chief visited to Snehalaya today. He spent about two hours with the trustee's & Volunteer's of the Snehalaya
(6 P.M. to 8 P.M.)Snehalaya raised all the sensitive issues in the meeting & tried its level best to convince Mr. Ramanand to the views of Snehalaya. Mr. Madhusudhan Vinayak allies Mama Kuandinya, a well known social worker & educational thinker preceded  this meeting
Dr. Girish Kulkarni welcomed Mr. Ramanand and explained Snehalaya's major problems related to police department. Snehalaya wants that
1.    The police should immediately act whenever there is a compliant of trafficking & use of minor in the flesh trade.
2.Snehalaya wants that the unit of J.A.P.U. ( Juvenile Aid Protection Unite) should be set up in the Ahmednagar district immediately according to the Juvenile  Justice (Care & Protection)Act–2000. It will help the children in distress in Ahmednagar district as the special Police force will be available for the issues related to the children.  It was a  long pending demand of the Snehalaya since year 2002. presently the unite is available only in Mumbai, Nagpur, and Nashik.  A progressive law proves useless without honest implementation.  
3. Police should not misuse the provisions of the Mumbai  
   police Act (clauses 110, 111, 117, 118, etc) against the 
   victim women in prostitution. Police usually files the fraud cases against the victim women for so called soliciting at public places. A specific quota was given to every police station and every police station is bound to submit the monthly data of the number of cases under the Mumbai Police Act.  Many times ( according to survey in Ahmednagar District  82 percent) the prostitutes have to face the fake cases and it has became one of the major reasons of involving in the vicious circle of debt and prostitution against the own will.           
2.    Police should use I.P.T.A.(the immoral trafficking prevention Act)1986, the S.C.S.T. Atrocities Act ( in case of victim belongs to schedule cast and scheduled tribes) against pimps, brothel keepers, hotel – lodges – dhaba owners, in the specific cases of trafficking without any usual reasoning. Usually lower Police administration denies to use these acts as the procedures are lengthy and it needs the police officer not below the rank of Dy. S.P. Hence many times Police just apply Mumbai Police act which helps the criminals. In the past few cases it was done purposely to protect the brothel barons   
3.    The Police Chief should do the review of the cases related to women and children of the last two years raised by the Snehalaya. It will show the graph of the police practice against the related laws.  
4.    The police chief should spare some of his time to Snehalaya of the district level monthly crime meeting for the sensitization on several child & women related issues, Aids and trafficking.  
In the reply, Mr. Ramanand said that he is fully agreed to a view that the fundamental & human rights of the victim women as well as the U.N. proposed  concept of child rights accepted by the Govt of India in 1995. He was working in some of the European countries for two years on deputation. There he has handled these issues with the modern humanitarian approaches quoting some of the experiences in Europe, Mr. Ramanand assured that the rights of the deprived people will be protected with priority in his tenure. He also assured that he is ever available for the institutions like Snehalaya. Mr. Ramanand said that he is more interested in convictions than the preventive actions against the criminals in the cases related to women and children.  The major problem which police department is of availability of the honest witnesses. Many sensible gentlemen helps to victims but, denies to work as a witness.  Police inevitably has to engage the professional and dishonest witnesses which ultimately results into acquittal of the criminals. Snehalaya assured Mr. Ramanand that the volunteers of Sneyhalaya will be ever available to Police department in the cases ralated to atrocities of children and women.  Snehalaya also given the references from 1996 of providing honest witnesses and sometimes the guaranters where victim was treated as an offender. 
    Snehalaya is not only running a shelter homes but actively works for the rights of the children and the women.  Hence sometimes the relations with police becomes sour as we even raise the voice against the injustice by the police. But we know the importance of the harmonious relations with police in our work. Snehalay, after the dialogue with Mr. Ramanand  is now expecting more co-operation of the police dept. Mr. Suvalal Shingavi, Dr. Marciya Waran, Mr. Ambadas Chavan, Latabai Pawar, Geetabai More, Malanbai, & other members of the Snehalaya raised questions about the behavior of the police dept. & also gave the suggestions to minimize the tensions Manjiri Tambe offered the vote of thanks.