Tirupati: Chittoor district police have resolved 640 complaints by women under their innovative “Prati Gadapaki Mahila Police”' initiative, a first-of-its-kind in Andhra Pradesh launched in June this year, superintendent of police Y. Rishanth Reddy emphasised on Saturday.
Addressing reporters after a year-end review meeting, the SP said this ambitious programme had been rolled out on June 9 across all 35 police stations in the district. 512 women police officers visited every neighbourhood to understand issues faced by women and illegal activities happening around their areas. They registered complaints accordingly through a specialized app.
"Of 727 total complaints registered through door-to-door visits, police have resolved 640, while 87 are still under investigation. Issues raised range from domestic abuse, harassment and financial frauds to illegal activities,” Rishanth Reddy explained.
He pointed out that Chittoor police identified 15 illicitly distilled (ID) arrack-prone villages in the beginning of 2023. With action taken against them, six of them are now “green” villages. A total of 658 criminals have been bound over and PD Act has been invoked against an ID vendor.
The SP said 96 per cent conviction rate has been maintained by Chittoor police this year. While white-collar offenses saw a slight rise (232 cases registered versus 196 in 2022), cases related to bodily offences decreased from 1,006 cases last year to 941 this year.
Similarly, fatal road accidents fell from 346 last year to 296 this year. Recovery rate in property crimes rose to 57 per cent, with police recovering ₹3.5 crore out of ₹6.21 crore property stolen. On enforcement side, police collected ₹2.11 crore in fines from 1,48,231 traffic violators across the district. As many as 6,066 drunken driving cases have been registered.
Among high-profile arrests is one of notorious international red sanders smuggler Jangala Siva Shankar, along with his eight gang members. Police seized red sanders logs worth ₹1.08 crore by nabbing 58 smugglers and woodcutters.
Lauding his force’s efforts, Rishanth Reddy stated that measures like village visits, community policing and greater reliance on technical evidence are improving conviction rates. Greater visibility of police also acted as an effective deterrent across Chittoor district, he added.
