Bengaluru
City Police in partnership with Royal Enfield has created an all women
motorcycle riding brigade- ‘We for Women’, a team dedicated towards making
Bengaluru a safer city for women and children. Fifteen dedicated Police Sub-
Inspectors with a passion for riding were trained to enhance their riding
skills, under various conditions, to tackle any challenge they might face while
on duty.
The
women riding brigade would take on patrolling duties in order to make Bengaluru
safer for women. While the creation of this team helped bring forth the smart
lady officers who are dedicated towards making Bengaluru safe, Bengaluru City
Police along with Team Royal Enfield also endeavors to break the gender
stereotypes in the society around areas which has been considered to be male
dominant. Leading this special project, Divya Sara Thomas, IPS, DCP, City Armed
Reserve Headquarters, Bengaluru, said “With more women being inducted into the
force, there is a need to empower them further. Under the ‘We for Women’
initiative, we have trained 15 lady sub inspectors as of now and will continue
to grow this team of motorcyclists. We want these women to lead by example and
inspire other women as
well
while keeping the city safe.”
These
15 women officers were trained in two phases. During phase I, which was held in
October, they were introduced to Royal Enfield motorcycles like Himalayan,
Interceptor 650 and Classic Signals 350 and in the Phase II, which was held in
December 2019 and January 2020, they were exposed to riding these motorcycles
in Bengaluru city traffic conditions. The training was conducted in
collaboration with Team Royal Enfield who aimed at equipping the women officers
with the professional riding skills which would help them to confidently patrol
the streets of Bengaluru.
To
commemorate the newly formed brigade, a ride was conducted to Nandi hills. The
ride was flagged off by Bhaskar Rao, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru
city, at the office of City Armed Reserve Headquarters, Bengaluru. Other Joint
Commissioners Sandeep Patil (Crime Branch) and Dr. B R Ravikanthe Gowda
(Traffic) along with Dr. Sharanappa SD, IPS, DCP East Division, Dr.
Bheemashankar S Guled, IPS, DCP North East, S Sidaraju, KSPS, DCP City Armed
Reserve, West and M Abraham George, KSPS and DCP City Armed Reserve, North,
also joined in to show their solidarity towards this initiative.