Telangana police to set up 10 new Bharosa centres, says Swathi Lakra

Telangana is all set to get 10 new Bharosa centres working under the women and child safety wing of the Telangana police. The Bharosa centres are expected to open by the end of this year, and will be operated using funds from both the centre and through Corporate Social Responsibility scheme. 

Bharosa centres were set up with the idea of providing integrated support to women and children who have been subjected to severe abuse – be it physical, sexual, financial, or emotional. The centres help in getting cases registered and also provide medical, counselling, and legal service to those who face sexual abuse.

The ten new centres in the offing are being built mostly through Corporate Social Responslibity and have enough funds to begin and sustain their operations. The police intend to construct Bharosa centres at Cyberabad and at Rachakonda commissionerates of Hyderabad sing funds from the Safe City Project of central government. 

At Sangareddy, Khammam, and Warangal districts, the police have already identified structures for offices and renovation work is presently ongoing. Operations are expected to commence within this year, say senior officials.

Presently, the Bharosa centre in Hyderabad is located at Haca Bhavan at Adarsh Nagar. The only other centre is at Vikarabad.

In the coming months, the women’s safety wing of the police intends to reorganise itself in the form of modules. Apart from the SHE module and Bharosa module, there will also be a cybercrime against women and child module, anti-human trafficking module, NRI cell which is already functioning, analysis, research and development wing, and a training and learning module.

“Most of the funds are often required for manpower,” says Swati Lakra, DGP, women and child safety wing, who heads the SHE team and Bharosa centres in the state. The official said Bharosa centres have been set up as a society so that the centres can accept funds from private donors. “There are 31 districts in the state and our aim is to set up these centres across the state,” she adds.

In the three years of its operation, Bharosa centres have witnessed a total of 6,437 cases, with a total of 898 POCSO cases, and got convictions in 37 cases.

There were a reported 4,490 domestic violence cases and the two centres have managed to close 3,627 cases. The centre in the three years also received 240 rape cases and 809 other cases. A total of 447 chargesheets have also been filed through the Bharosa centres by the police.

The governing body of the Bharosa centres will have ex-officials as chairpersons, the Home Minister, Principal Secretary (Home), the Director-General of Police, Commissioner of Police Hyderabad, officials from Health Department, Women and Child Welfare Department and District Legal Services Authority officials.