In a bid to the curb rising crime incidents against women, Bihar police can now lodge a case against a man for giving missed call to a woman.
“Section 354 B (ii) of IPC, introduced following the infamous Nirbhaya gang-rape incident in New Delhi, stipulates that a criminal case should be lodged in case a woman complains to the police about a missed call. There are two important points – the caller must be a male and there has to be a criminal intent for which the police will book him,” CID IG (weaker sections) Arvind Pandey said in a circular to district SPs on Tuesday. The police should investigate the case with all seriousness, the circular said.
IG Pandey also appealed to harried girls and women to react.
“The girls should know they are protected by the law even if they get missed calls from male callers. Even people who witness an incident of sexual harassment of a girl, should react,” said the IG.
Sources said separate teams of women police stations and CID (weaker sections) are conducting awareness camps to create awareness about laws that deal with crime against women, including cybercrime, at schools, colleges, girls’ hostels and coaching centres in different districts. To start with, the campaign was launched in Darbhanga district.
“Initially, girls hesitate to discuss their problems as they do not take us seriously. But after we spend a few hours with them, we gain their confidence. Many girls have lodged complaints regarding harassment with the help of cellphones,” said a police station house officer who is a part of the awareness campaign team.
The police during the campaign are also distributing a pamphlet which contains guidelines for girls on how to safely use cellphones and protect their numbers from going in wrong hands. “Inmates if girls’ hostels in Patna mostly belong to other districts. Sudden freedom from the safe confines of family household makes them adventurous and, in the process, they get trapped,” an officer of the women’s police station at Patna said.
