Telangana to soon have special probe units for crime against women

To ensure speedy probe in cases of crime against women and render justice to victims, an elite investigative unit for crimes against women (IUCAW) will soon come up in all district headquarters of Telangana.

The Telangana Police has already submitted proposals to the state government in this regard and a response is awaited, senior police officials said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier directed all the states and Union Territories to establish IUCAWs.

The proposed IUCAWs will assist local police in investigation of heinous crimes against women like rape, dowry deaths, acid attack and human trafficking, they said.

The objectives of these units are - to provide additional functionalities of pro-active policing, intelligence gathering, tackling crime, monitoring and implementation of legislative provisions and to help in awareness generation and social participation in crimes against women.

Initially, the Telangana Police sent a proposal to set up two units in Karimnagar and Warangal districts, but later the MHA issued guidelines asking all states to set up IUCAWs in all the district headquarters.

As per the MHA guidelines, a unit headed by additional superintendent of police will comprise of 15 personnel out of whom one-third will be women.

When contacted, Additional Director General of Police (Telangana CID) Satyanarain told PTI, "We have submitted a proposal to establish IUCAWs in all district headquarters."

To investigate crimes against women and achieve good results and convictions, the central government conceived the idea of opening investigative units, he said.

Each unit will consist of four sub-units headed by an Inspector. It will form the core investigative unit, while two DSPs headed by one additional SP will function in supervisory capacity. These units should be equipped with specialised investigators, as per MHA guidelines.

The central government will pay 50% of the salaries of staff in each unit. The rest would be paid by the state government.

Another senior official said that setting up of specialised IUCAWs would enable investigators to conduct a detailed inquiry after a case is registered and ensure speedy detection and also conviction in such cases, rendering justice to the victim.