Six new Bharosa Centres launched

Hyderabad: In a move to ensure the safety of women and to prevent domestic and sexual abuse, the Telangana police started six new centres under its Bharosa initiative.

The newly added districts include Narayanpet, Kamareddy, Rajanna Sircilla, Jayashankar in Bhupalpally, Komarambheem in Asifabad, and Nirmal. According to officials, in their commitment to expand the footprint of Bharosa centres across all districts of Telangana, the Women Safety Wing of Telangana State Police opened six new Bharosa centres this week on February 16, 17, and 18.

This significant scale-up represents a crucial step forward in the State's commitment to aiding victims of crimes targeting women and children throughout the State.

Under the guidance of Shikha Goel, ADG Women Safety Wing, Telangana State Police, the districts of Narayanpet, Kamareddy, and Rajanna Sircilla conducted opening ceremonies along with SPs Yogesh Goutam (Narayanpet), Ch Sindhu Sharma (Kamareddy), and Akhil Mahajan (Rajanna Sircilla) on Friday.

The inaugural messages clearly conveyed the determination of Telangana Police resonating at the district level to ensure comprehensive assistance to survivors of crime against women and children. Currently, these centres shall operate from rented premises, which would later be transitioned into permanent state-of-the-art buildings for which CSR funding is being solicited.

Since May 2016, Telangana police have expanded Bharosa centres from one to 20 Statewide, offering comprehensive support including medical, legal, and rehabilitation aid.

Recently, eight new centres were inaugurated in Jagityal, BhadradriKothagudem, Jangaon, Mancheriyal, Mulugu, Nagarkurnool, Peddapally, and Wanaparthy on February 6, 2024, furthering efforts to extend services to more victims. Notably, a new permanent building was unveiled on February 15, 2024, for the Medak Bharosa Centre, enhancing support for victims.

The dignitaries at the opening ceremony highlighted the comprehensive aid offered by Bharosa Centres, stressing the significance of a fully victim-centric approach within the policing and legal echo systems. Since inception, these centres have aided 4,782 cases related to Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) and 1,163 rape cases, demonstrating their pivotal role in enabling justice and rehabilitation.