Chhattisgarh’s Balod police wins ‘Oscar’ of community policing

we closely worked with the Public Works Department to reduce black spots which were accidentprone. This interlinked effort was the secret behind the success of the story,” he said. Navodaya is the umbrella name for a combination of three programmes implemented by the Balod police, starting 2015. These programmes are: Mission ERaksha (E-Protection) for cyber-security awareness, Mission Jeev-Daya (life saviour) for providing medical aid to accident victims and road safety, and Mission Poorna-Shakti (holistic empowerment) for empowering rural women.

Under Mission E-Raksha, the police picked up volunteers to sensitise people about cyber crimes. These volunteers received training and hand holding by the police personnel. They were also provided material in simple local language so the IT jargon can be simplified and explained. An examination was conducted for these volunteers. Only those who secured over 50% marks became e-Rakshaks. After being selected, they were continuously trained and motivated through quizzes and seminars. The police staff was also constantly trained and monitored. Over 400 e- Rakshaks, mainly college students, covered 704 villages to spread awareness among 0.7 million people. The impact was that people started dealing with fraud calls and provided real time information to police. This helped the police nab gangs involved in ATM fraud, tower installation fraud, Nigerian fraud, to name a few.

Under “Mission Jeev Daya”, accident-prone black spots were identified with the help of data. Dangerous spots were highlighted through fluorescent boards. Road engineering faults were cor- rected through PWD. Teams of volunteers around these spots were trained to provide emergency medical aid. Often, the victims would lose the battle as the ambulance arrived after the golden hour. The Jeev Daya committees chipped in here and helped reduce fatalities. First aid kits and other essential items were provided to them by the police. This led to a 20% decline in accidental deaths in the area.

While implementing “Mission Poorna Shakti”, the officers realised that teaching self-defence techniques to women through karate and martial arts was not useful. “These women wear saris. How will they be able to kick and punch freely in problem situations?” asked a police officer. So the self-defence training programmes were customised to suit the needs of the rural women. They were taught the usage of various day-to-day items for self-defence. These women commandos were also encouraged to patrol their neighbourhood in groups. This brought down antisocial behaviour and crimes. “Till date, 8,000 women have been trained in the ‘ready-to-react self defence programme’,” Arif Shaikh said.