Nirbhaya centres in Uttar Pradesh districts to help women

LUCKNOW: With a view to providing prompt help to victims of crime against women, Nirbhaya centres will be opened in all the districts of Uttar Pradesh.

"Nirbhaya centres will be set up in women hospitals or women police stations with the view to providing immediate medical and other help to the victims of crime or violence against women," an official release quoting Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan said here today.

The Chief Secretary said arrangements should be made for lodging FIRs of the victims at these Nirbhaya centres.

The centres have been named after 'Nirbhaya (fearless one)', the young woman, who had been brutally gang-raped in a moving bus in New Delhi in December 2012, triggering a nation-wide outrage.

For running and overall monitoring of these centres at the state level, a committee headed by the Chief Secretary would be set up soon and nodal officers nominated in home, medical, health and law departments for completing necessary works for setting up these centres, the release said.

The Chief Secretary, who chaired a meeting in this regard with officials concerned, also directed them to complete the formalities for setting up Asha Jyoti Kendras in pilot districts for providing all schemes meant for empowerment of women under one umbrella.

He also called for taking up awareness drive for women through the state information department and warned that laxity in providing relief to victims and ensuring safety of women would not be tolerated.