India is known to be the mother of traditions, culture and festivals. One such vibrant festival Navaratri? is currently being celebrated across the nation from Thursday, October 7.
Navaratri is a nine-day festival, in which devotees worship Goddess Durga, who is a feminine energy representing strength, courage, kindness and power.
Nagpur city is blessed with a woman with all those virtues, who leads from the front and has set an example for many other young girls fearlessly.
In an exclusive conversation with Nation Next, Nagpur Zone II DCP IPS Vinita S, spoke about the contribution of female cops in maintaining law and order in the city.
Vinita, who is the senior-most DCP serving in the Nagpur Police Commissionerate (IPS 2010 batch), said that being a woman was an advantage for her in the service rather than being a problem.
She said, Nagpur Police Commissioner IPS Amitesh Kumar had started an initiative where the working hours of female cops were reduced from 12 hours to eight hours. Impressed by the move, Maharashtra government later on implemented the same across the entire state.
Vinita further added that she was blessed to be working with the best seniors and colleagues, who never made her feel that she was a woman in a man’s shoes.
Talking about female cops in her zone, where she has successfully completed two-years on duty, she said, We have two Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACPs), one crime police inspector (PI), one senior PI, seven Assistant Police Inspector (APIs) and eight Police Sub Inspector (PSIs) stationed in Zone II who are all women. In total, Zone II has 219 women cops serving the people round the clock.
She said though the cases of domestic violence in Nagpur had increased during the lockdown, under the guidance of CP Amitesh Kumar, Nagpur Police came up with innovative ways to solve problems such as Police Didi, counselling cell and others.
CP sir is a leader with a vision, who always takes the wellbeing of his officers seriously. He gives us challenging tasks so that we can become a better version of ourselves. Due to the reduction in working hours of female cops, he has eased their lives as they have to handle both ? duty and their home, said Vinita about Kumar.
Vinita strongly advocated the need for digital awareness among youth and said, Through mediums like Nation Next, I would like to call on the younger generation to stay alert all the time. Be aware of your surroundings, not only physical but also digital. Even slightest of suspicious activity should be immediately reported to the concerned authorities.
She advocated for the fact that education could reduce crime. Do not fall for traps, all that glitters is not gold. Girls should not take eve-teasing and bullying lightly. We are here to help them. We have trained our cops to deal with sensitive situations, she opined.
I want to assure the citizens, that under CP sirs leadership, Nagpur is in safe hands. However, we ask for equal co-operation from them. While remembering their rights, citizens should not forget their duties, the DCP added.
She concluded her say by stating that she was looking forward to strengthening her department and empower women working under her.
?When you are in a powerful position, which has a huge impact, young girls and women want to become like you. This makes you more responsible for your job. There is no bigger satisfaction in knowing that your actions are inspiring and empowering others, who wish to serve the nation one day, said Vinita when asked about her experience while serving from the front line.