Nirbhaya fund to pay for village cop volunteers

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 29

Counting Mahila Police Volunteers (MPVs) in every village as an achievement of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi said the programme would be funded by the Nirbhaya fund.

Guidelines for the MPV have been developed in collaboration with the Bureau of Police Research and Development of the Home Ministry.

“Their job is to ensure welfare of every woman in the village. The volunteers will report cases to the police on crimes such as women being beaten up, marriage of underage girls and marriage involving dowry demands,” Maneka said, adding that small amounts of money from the Nirbhaya fund would pay for volunteers’ cell phones.

The volunteers will not receive salaries. The MPVs will act as a link between the police and the women in distress.

The volunteers will get identity cards to authorise their engagement with the public. The scheme was approved by the Home Ministry last month. The Chief Secretaries of the states are now being requested to adopt the initiative in their respective states.