PANAJI
A policing idea born in Goa is now heading for Delhi, four years after the coastal State put specially trained women police personnel on the streets to prevent crimes against women.
With Delhi grappling with a string of assault cases involving women and children, and questions over patrolling in public spaces, Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu has ordered the Delhi Police to create its own ‘Pink Force’ on the Goa model.
Sandhu further directed the Delhi Police to set up a women-centric patrol force of specially trained women personnel for high-visibility patrolling around schools, colleges, metro stations, and other vulnerable locations, particularly during sensitive hours. The move follows four reported sexual-assault cases against minors in Delhi in just about two weeks.
Delhi had already experimented with a women-only patrol model called ‘Tejaswini’, which deployed women personnel for beat policing, two-wheeler patrols, and response around schools, colleges, markets, and other public spaces. The model, however, remained largely confined to Northwest Delhi rather than becoming a citywide policing template.
This time, Delhi has specifically been asked to look towards Goa’s Pink Force.
Launched by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on December 17, 2021, the 250-member force was conceived not as another investigative arm, but as a visible, preventive and immediate-response layer of policing. Initially operating through 11 police stations, the force was equipped with dedicated vehicles and tasked with responding to concerns involving women, children and tourists. It has since expanded further.
“Pink Force reaches the women in distress and the local police station takes over the FIR, arrest and investigation thereafter,” a senior officer told The Goan.
Having taken up several cases since its inception while simultaneously deployed at strategic locations, the force was once again put to the test recently when a woman called 112 to report that an unknown man was following her in Panaji.
Pink Force personnel traced and detained the man, finding him hiding behind stones in a dark area. “The force was also informed that the accused person had allegedly harassed two other women lately, and fled,” the officer said, adding that the man was subsequently handed over to Panaji police for further action.
Goa Police has described the force as a mechanism to prevent crime rather than merely detect it, with its personnel trained in emergency response and assistance. Its original mandate envisaged reaching women in distress within minutes. The Pink Force’s response time for reaching women and children in distress is within 5 to 8 minutes.
