Gujarat: Seniors demanded sexual favour, 25 women home guards alleged

At least 25 women home guards in Gujarat have filed written complaints against two senior officials of sexual harassment, demanding money for desired transfer, and seeking sexual favours. The complainants have demanded a prompt inquiry, it has also been sent to Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani,

The women on Friday approached City police commissioner Satish Sharma with a written complaint. Sharma said a ‘local complaints committee was set up under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act to probe into the matter.

The complaint named two senior home guard officials, alleging that the duo subjected women to ‘mental, physical, sexual emotional and financial harassment’, and even asked sexual favours from some of them, NDTV reported.

The two senior officials asked for money for transfer to desired places, the women alleged. “If the money was not paid, the women were transferred to far-off places and harassed,” the complaint said.

The complaint also alleged that one of the senior officers often touched women home guards inappropriately on the pretext of adjusting their uniform. Some of the women were forced to work as domestic help for seniors.

“We have referred the matter to the district local complaints committee headed by a deputy commissioner of police,” commissioner Sharma quoted by NDTV as saying.

“Home guards have nothing to do with the police department, so we cannot take their complaints before the police’s internal committee. The local complaints committee has started inquiry into it,” he said.

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