Female cops at visarjan keep miscreants in check

Updated on: 10 September,2014 07:21 AM IST |
Niranjan Medhekar and Namrata Anjana |

On the eleventh day of Ganeshotsav, when the roads are choked with people out for visarjan, mid-day observed many female cops working tirelessly to ensure that the women in the crowd remained safe

Police Inspector Sushma Chavan

During the immersion procession at Belbaug Chowk on Monday, aside from the men in uniform managing the crowd, a female police inspector was also seen constantly on her toes, maintaining law and order in the area.

Sushma Chavan is a well-known face of the Pune police, famous for her discipline and no-nonsense attitude.

On the last day of Ganesh visarjan, her duty started from early morning and lasted till late night, and not once was the inspector found taking rest.

“I have been getting the responsibility of crowd management during immersion for many years now. It is quite a challenging task to keep a continuous eye on people and making sure that no untoward incidents take place,” she said.

While she continued to make sure that the crowd vacates the chowk in a timely manner, Chavan once came across a boy, around 10 years of age, and immediately realised that he was looking for his family. Within minutes, she found his mother and handed him over to her.

“Since morning, I have caught about three or four men harassing girls, taking advantage of the crowd,” said Chavan, who has been in the police force for the last 27 years and is currently posted at the property cell of Pune’s Crime Branch.