Home Minister witnesses display of self-defence techniques by first batch of girl students being trained under KSRP

Mysore/Mysuru: At a time when crime rate in the city has been rising, especially crimes against women, safety and security of girls is a concern for the Police.

In a bid to empower adolescent girls with shielding techniques, Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) Fifth Battalion has set out to impart self-defence training to help them defend their modesty in times of need.

The self-defence training is slated to be a month-long affair where easy and retainable techniques to defend oneself are taught. The KSRP trainers will also acquaint girls with several other significant self-defence techniques which involve using their arms, head and legs, daily-use objects like pencils, water bottles and bags to the best of their ability when needed.

Over 574 girls aged between 13 and 25 years from various schools in city including Adarsha School, Vani Vilasa School, Police Public School and Geetha School are being trained at present in the first batch which began on Aug. 31. This training will be a continuous affair with more batches. 

The initiative was formally inaugurated and inspected by Home Minister Araga Jnanendra at KSRP Parade Grounds this morning in the presence of senior Police officers. In his address, he called upon the girl students to make use of the techniques in times of need and resist any advances. “Women are not gullible and this initiative will make them stronger and enable them to take on criminals boldly,” he added.

Expressing confidence about the training, Pallavi of Police Public School told Star of Mysore that the training has given them much-needed confidence. “The training and techniques are simple and easy to understand. Once the techniques are used against any perpetrator, I am sure it will deter the criminal from attacking any girl,” she said. 

Additional Director General of Police (KSRP) Alok Kumar, IGP (Southern Range) Praveen Madhukar Pawar, City Police Commissioner Dr. Chandragupta, KSRP Fifth Battalion Commandant R. Janardhan, Superintendent of Police R. Chethan, Additional SP Shivakumar and others were present. 

It may be mentioned here that the then Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai (now CM) during his visit to Mysuru on July 14 to attend the Passing Out Parade of 35th batch probationary Dy.SPs and 43rd batch PSIs, had stated that the Police Department in coordination with the Department of Collegiate Education would impart training in self-defence for College students in order to prepare them both physically and mentally.