Thumps Down --- Autos, Buses

Shemin Joy

New Delhi, Sep 23, 2007 (PTI) Buses and autos plying in the capital have got a thumps down from Delhi women, with a whopping 70 per cent of the fairer sex claiming that these were the high-risk areas for them.

Fifty per cent of the respondents of a government- backed study -- "How Secure or Insecure are Women in the City of Delhi" by the National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science -- said they consider buses as most unsafe for women.

The study suggested that government should ensure that the drivers and conductors of blueline buses have no criminal background and get them registered with the authorities.

Autos came a distant second with 20 per cent in the study conducted for Bureau of Police Research and Development by interviewing 630 respondents in markets, colleges, railway stations, malls, ISBT, airport, slums and villages.

Ten per cent of the women felt that roadside was an area of high insecurity. Interestingly, Old Delhi ranked fourth in this regard with seven per cent of the respondents perceiving this part of the capital as scary.

The survey, conducted to stidy the perception level of insecurity among women in the capital, also found that market places and colleges are the places where capital's women feel most insecure. About 80.40 per cent of women interviewed at marketplaces said they felt insecure at the place while the figurefor colleges was 72.10 per cent.

Shopping malls came third where 60 per cent of respondents said they felt insecure. Level of insecurity was lowest among slum dwellers (8.70 per cent) followed by respondents from village (22.8 percent).

The study said personal factors like low level of confidence and alcoholic spouses made slum dwellers (80 per cent of the respondents) insecure.

The feeling of insecurity sank in 85 per cent of women in markets and railway stations due to low level of confidence, it said. In colleges, 70 per cent of the girls had lower level of confidence. Respondents from villages have higher trust in the police while those from markets and airport trusted police the lowest, it said.

The study suggested that small bottes of pepper spray be made available at a very low price for enhancing the security of the fairer sex.

"Every girl should carry pepper spray and it should beavailable in a small bottle at a very low price ... easilyavailable in the market," it said.

The study also recommended that women should always move in groups if possible and should carry contact numbers of women helpline and police besides having "some basic knowledge" of law.

CRPF women earn praise for work in Liberia

Shemin Joy

New Delhi, Dec 25, 2007 (PTI) A "five-star" performance bywomen personnel of the CRPF in strife-torn Liberia has earned them the praise of the African nation's President for motivating the country's women to join police, besides a year's extension

Completing a year in Liberia next month, the 125-strong contingent led by Commandant Seema Dhundiya, was entrusted with the security of the President, joint patrolling and general area domination besides riot control and training ofofficers of the National Police in the crisis-hit West Africannation

Impressed by their performance, the United Nations has sought an extension for the force, and a fresh batch of 125personnel, part of the CRPF's women battalion, will be heading to Liberia next month to replace the existing team

"It was for the first time that a female contingent was sent to Liberia in January this year to handle the local unrest and this is the first female contingent of police to be deployed by the UN," CRPF Director General S I S Ahmed toldPTI.

"The day the first batch landed in Liberia, there was a big demonstration. They did exceedingly well in containing the unruly mob. It created a big impact," Ahmed, who recently visited Liberia, said.

The "outstanding" performance by the squad, Ahmed said, also prompted the authorities to entrust the security of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf with the CRPF.

"Sirleaf told me that the CRPF has created an outstanding impact on the Liberians and a large number of women now are wanting to join the police. She said it was unparallelled as Liberian women never wanted to come and join police," Ahmedsaid.

The specialised Formed Police Unit, comprising 125 female officers of the paramilitary force, has received training in crowd control, handling of weapons and teargas and unarmed combat.

The team will be armed with pistols, INSAS and AK-47rifles and light machine guns.

The contingent will be equipped with bulletproof vehicles, indigenous riot control vehicle Vajra, night vision devices and GPS systems.

The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) took over peacekeeping duties from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in October 2003 to bring about a thaw among warring ethnic groups.

The existing contingent also received praise from UNMILCommander Lt Gen Chikadikia Obiaka and Deputy SpecialRepresentative of UN Secretary General, Henreitta Joy, who commended the CRPF work as "five star" performance.

Asked why the CRPF force was selected for the job, Ahmed said, "there were many demonstrations in which women were participating in large numbers and the government was finding it difficult to handle that."

He said the CRPF contingent is encouraging other countries to raise exclusive women contingent and "dignitaries visiting Liberia are interacting with our contingent to findout the mode of working".

"Like their male counterparts, they are into everything like counter-insurgency and counter-militancy. This kind ofexposure, I think, no women contingent in the world evergets," Ahmed said.

UN approaches India for CRPF contingent in Haiti

Shemin Joy

New Delhi, Dec 21, 2007 (PTI) The United Nations hasapproached India for the deployment of a CRPF contingent inthe trouble-torn Latin American nation of Haiti to help its peacekeeping mission, a proposal which is being considered by the government.

The Home Ministry received the UN proposal seeking CRPF personnel for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (UNSMIH) some time back, a senior official told PTI.

"The government is considering the proposal. Discussions are on the preliminary stage," the official said without elaborating the number of CRPF personnel sought by the UN to strengthen its existing force. No decision has been taken so far, the official added.

If the government accepts the invitation, this will be the second CRPF contingent to be deployed with UN peacekeeping mission now. A 125-member strong women contingent of the CRPFis presently in Liberia as part of the UN mission there.

The 123-men strong Rapid Action Force, a constituent of the CRPF, was earlier deployed in the trouble-torn Latin American nation in 1995 to assist the election process there. There were also a few Indians serving in the Mission inHaiti on the civil side.

The UN mission started functioning in Haiti in 1993 tos upport the country, the first indpendent nation in Latin America, which was in the midst of chaos and anarchy.

Presently, there are 8,889 personnel in Haiti as partof the UN mission. This include 7,060 military personnel,1,829 police personnel, 482 international civilian personnel,1,102 local civilian staff and 194 UN volunteers.

The personnel are from Pakistan, China, Sri Lanka,Nepal, United States, France, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey,Nigeria and Philippines among others nations.

According to official statistics, a total of 32 personnel of the UN Mission have lost their lives in the violence-hit nation, including 19 military and three police personnel in the past.

Personnel of CRPF were also deployed in Sri Lanka aspart of the India Peace Keeping Force. In 2000, RAF sent its 240 personnel as part of anIndian contingent on UN mission to strife-torn Kosovo.

This unit provided special secuirty to the UN officials, assistedthe local police in controlling crowd during violentdemonstrations and civil unrest. CRPF contingent were also pressed into action by various UN Missions in Namibia, Somalia, Haiti, Maldives andBosnia. These contingents won praises from the UN for its professionalism and steadfastness to duty, the official said.

Noida police asks Delhi counterparts for missing persons info

Shemin Joy
Noida, Jan 2, 2007 (PTI) Noida police have asked their Delhicounterparts to provide them with details of missing personsin their areas even as people from far and near are coming toNithari village, where a gruesome tale of serial killing ofchildren has come to light, in search of their missing kin.

Circle Officer (Noida) Dinesh Yadav held a meetingwith SHOs of Anand Vihar and Vivek Vihar in East Delhi andrequested them to give details of missing persons in theirareas, including the complaints and their photographs.

More and more persons from nearby areas in the National Capital Region (NCR) as well as from places likeMuzaffarnagar are thronging Nithari village in search of theirmissing kin after the discovery of skeletal remains there.

Yadav said special arrangements have been made forpeople coming from outside Noida and a sub-inspector has beenspecifically assigned to listen to their complaints at Sector20 police station.

One of the several parents who have come to Nithari village is Zaheer Khan, a motor mechanic from Muzaffarnagarin UP

Khan's 12-year-old son went missing three years agowhile he was staying at his uncle's house in Ghaziabad that is not very far from the scene of the crime

"I have been searching for my son for the last three years and even lost my job," Khan said.

Phool Kaur came to Nithari fearing that her missing sister Hans Kaur, a resident of Kalyanpuri area of East Delhi,could be among the victims of the alleged serial killers Moninder Singh and his servant Surendra.

Hans Kaur had gone missing in January, 2003 and was last spotted in Sector 11 of Noida.

An FIR was registered in both the Sector 11 andKalyanpuri police stations.

"Police had called us a few days after the FIR was registered and said a body had been found. But it was not Hans," said Phool Kaur.

A large number of people have been coming to Nithari village with copies of FIRs and photographs of their missing kin since the serial killings have come to light.

Several parents showed photographs of their missing children and showed them to the police officials even as they braced themselves to hear bad news.

Yadav said a large number of people were approaching Noida police since the lust-cum-murder case came to light. The people were asked to provide with photograph,copies of FIR filed earlier with relevant police stations and other details, he said.

Fighting AIDS, the Gandhian way

Shemin Joy

New Delhi, Oct 7, 2007 (PTI) Inspired by Bollywood characterMunnabhai, a group of Gandhians in the capital have declared a"Gandhigiri" against HIV/AIDS by urging people to keep awayfrom illicit relationship by spreading the teachings of the Father of the Nation on moral and family values.

Activists of the 'Universal Peace Foundation' aredistributing "Gandhigiri" pamphlets, which contains messages of Mahatma Gandhi on values like being trustworthy in relationships and on the institution of wedding.

The pamphlet urges people to take a pledge that they will keep away from illicit relationships before or after marriage and will be faithful to the partner in the entire life. It also contains passages from sacred texts of various religions like Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism,Zorastrianism and Ba'ahai.

The campaign was designed under the guidance ofeminent jurist L M Singhvi, who died yesterday.

"We are trying to reach out to the masses using theMahatma's teachings to fight against HIV/AIDS," DavidMcLackLand, a Britisher associated with the campaign, told PTI.

MacLackland, also a consultant with a charitable trust'Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace',said they chose the principles of Mahatma because his idealshave an universal appeal. Gandhiji also spoke on length about the need foradhering to family values, he added.

"We thought why not use his eternal principles in the fight against the deadly disease. The pamphlet also contains quotes from religious texts which talks about values,"MacLackland said.

He said it was "good to copy good things from abroadbut copying bad ideas like the western family values could create problems here". "Being from the West, I can say this with some conviction," McLackland said.

Women in police force unknown entity: Kiran Bedi

Shemin Joy

New Delhi, Dec 26, 2007 (PTI) She made a mark as the country's first IPS officer. And bidding the police service adieu, Kiran Bedi [Images] lamented that her sisters in the force continued to be an unknown entity.

"Women are still an unknown entity in the force. They remain anonymous and the government thinks they are unpredictable," Bedi, who ended her 37-year-old eventful career in the police force on Wednesday, said.

Bedi had alleged in July, when she was overlooked for the post of Delhi police commissioner, that the government was biased towards women in the police force.

She was relieved of her duties on Wednesday after the government accepted her one-and-half month-old application for voluntary retirement.

Bedi was also critical of the "negative" political interference in policing, saying it was affecting the efficiency of the police force in the country.

"There are no debates in the country about the police and its reforms. We had a number of police commissions. What did they achieve? Have you done any audit? There are no police officers who speak out against this and there is nobody to speak for policemen. This is despite the best being there in the service," she said.

Asked how she assesses her illustrious and sometimes controversial career, the 1972-batch officer said she remembers the service with "nostalgic gratitude".

"There were milestones, valleys, mountains, plains and sometimes trenches also," she said.

"I was in a service where I truly belonged to. I was never a misfit. I was fitting beautifully in the system. I grew up for this," she added.

On criticism that she was the "most pampered" officer, she said, "If I was a pampered officer, I would not have spent four years in the training department. Not a single pampered officer goes to Tihar."

Bedi, who has been an Asian Tennis champion, said she imbibed many a thing from the game.

"Tennis was never my goal. But it taught me what books did not. I travelled with books. I attended exams after my matches. My priority was something else," Bedi said, adding she knew that the game has a shelf life.

She was ready to acknowledge what tennis taught her. "It taught me how to manage stress and time, what to eat, when to sleep, how to exercise and many other things."

She said her travel to various places in the country in general women compartments of trains made her come close to realities of life.

Asked what she did after receiving the relieving letter from the home ministry on Christmas eve, Bedi said she went to a temple to say, "God, Thank you and now take care of me."

Indo-China to hold 2nd joint military exercise this year

Shemin Joy

Laungewala (Rajasthan), Feb 24, 2008 (PTI) Though India and China have differing perception on the boundary line in Arunachal Pradesh, the two armies will go ahead with their second joint military exercise on Indian soil this year.

"For the first time, we had an exercise with China in their territory. Next joint exercise will be held in India this year. You can wait for it," Defence Minister A K Antony told reporters in Laungwala at Rajasthan on Sunday.

Asked about the Chinese incursions in Arunachal Pradesh, the defence minister said, "There exists an established channel to sort out such matters."

Antony said the India-China border was not demarcated yet. "It is not settled yet. There is always some scope for confusion," he said.

Antony was speaking to reporters after a visit to Laungwala, the historic site where about 100 Indian soldiers thwarted an attack by Pakistani troops during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

New Delhi and Beijing carried out their first-ever joint military exercise in China's southwestern province of Yunnan in December last year, which was helpful in building mutual trust and promoting cooperation between the armies of the two countries.

The purpose of the joint military exercise with China was aimed at taking the ties between the armed forces of two countries to a new high.

Antony also expressed hope that the pay commission will give armed forces the best.The defence minister strongly argued a case in the favour of the armed forces. "I hope pay commission will favour us," he said.