Shakti and Sakhi will be merely 10 minutes away from women in trouble and just a call to the police control room will bring these two to the rescue of the victim.
Shakti and Sakhi are two specially-equipped mobile vans that have been launched by the Lucknow police to check crime against women. These action mobile vans -- as they have been christened -- will be equipped by female constables as well as armed male constables.
Shakti will also have a sub inspector on board apart from a video camera and basic amenities for the first aid.
Shakti and Sakhi are the brainchild of Lucknow DIG Prem Prakash and have been designed to deal with growing instances of crime against women and children in the state capital.
"Both the mobile vans have been equipped to reach the scene of the crime within ten minutes of receiving the distress call. The police personnel stationed on these two vans have been sensitised to deal with women and children who tend to become hyper during a crisis situation. It can be quite distressing if a woman who has been a victim in a crime situation is subjected to an insensitive behaviour by the cops," said a senior police official.
It is noteworthy that the Lucknow police has been making repeated attempts to check crime against women, but all the efforts have been in vain. Incidents of chain snatching, eveteasing, molestation, rape and murder have been on the rise.
In 2008, the Lucknow police set up a helpline exclusively for women to encourage them to report cases of domestic violence.
