LAHORE, Aug 11: The Punjab government might increase the strength of women police to counter crime against women.

A document, a copy of which was available to Dawn, says the increase in the women police force was suggested in a meeting presided over by Governor Khalid Maqbool in the last week of July.

Besides Punjab IGP Malik Asif Hayat, the meeting was attended by headquarters police DIG, DIG Crimes, AIG Operations, the DIGs of Faisalabad, Sargodha and Gujranwala along with their respective DPOs.

The meeting had been convened to monitor the progress of cases concerning women, children and weaker segment of society. The senior police hierarchy had been directed to bring along some very important cases to use them to evolve guidelines to improve police working to tackle such cases in a better way.

Discussing the increase in the women force strength in detail, the document says, the meeting agreed it was necessary to counter crime against women and redress the grievances of the downtrodden and weaker segment of society.

It says the suggestion to increase women police force is being worked out at the CPO level of the Punjab IGP secretariat.

“A comprehensive proposal will be prepared shortly to be submitted to the governor for early decision,” it adds.

The senior police command presented a total 16 cases of crime against women and children to the governor.

Of them, the meeting was told that seven had been sent to courts, six were under process for completion of challans and three were under investigation.

The command told the governor a total 88 people were found involved in the 16 cases.

“Eighty per cent of them have been arrested and the rest of them are either at large or have got interim bails from courts concerned.”

Each of the case was presented by the IGP and its latest progress was further explained by the respective DPOs and the DIGs. In all the cases, focus remained on the technical aspects involved in such cases like that of rape, gangrape, sodomy and rape with murder.

Experts from the Finger Print Bureau, the Chemical Examiner, the Forensic Medicine, the Toxicology and Medico Legal Department had also been invited to the meeting to give their opinion on the technical aspects of the cases.

In the light of expert opinion, the meeting agreed that there was a strong need to upgrade the existing system and procedure of the chemical examination.

“There has always been non-availability of adequate and modern equipment, particularly to carry out DNA tests.”

Discussing all these aspects in detail, the governor directed the DPOs to personally involve themselves in the investigation of such cases and monitor each stage to finalize them within the shortest possible time to ensure punishment to culprits.

The governor also observed that although the police were an integral part of the criminal justice system, all other agencies, including governmental and non-governmental, should work in the direction to make each member of society well aware of these social evils and accordingly contribute towards eradicating them. Local community should also be involved to get intelligence input, he directed the police command.