Now, a child-friendly police station at Bhagalpur

BHAGALPUR: With a view to reforming juvenile delinquents and providing a cheeerful environment to children coming to police stations with their parents, Bhagalpur police have started ‘Bal Mitra Thana’ (children-friendly police station) at the Kotwali police station here.

Senior police officers said, “The objective of the thana is to provide juvenile detainees a homely environment at the police station.

Such police stations will also have friendly cops for educating and entertaining children. Another objective of the thana is to bring positive behavioural changes among children with assistance from counsellors.”

The initiative at Kotwali police station was formally launched on the occasion of 73rd Independence Day on Thursday. Police personnel said the thana is also aimed at educating and entertaining children of women police personnel as well who have no one at home to look after their kids. A policeman, who is a widower, too can bring his children to the police station and leave them at ‘Bal Mitra’ thana during their working hours.

“The concept of this thana is to reform the juvenile delinquents and children accompanying their parents to police stations through pictorial study and entertainment material,” Bhagalpur SSP Ashish Bharti said.

He added,“We will implement the initiative at other police stations in the district as well.”

The walls of the thana at Kotwali police station have been painted with Hindi and English alphabets, numericals, cartoons, comics and other education and entertainment material. “The police station functions almost like a pre-school for toddlers. It will be able to facilitate delinquent children and those accompanying their parents, especially women police staff,” another police officer said.

Bhagalpur SSP Ashish Bharti said women police personnel besides others, who have been deputed at the Bal Mitra Thana (BMT), have been imparted training in ‘Mahila Koshang’ (women cell) at the SSP’s office. Soft skill training to enable police personnel for interacting effectively and harmoniously with children and other visitors at BMT are also being imparted. “We will be monitoring the activities of police personnel at BMT and will also take a feedback from children and persons visiting the thana in order to improve the environment so that we can achieve the desired objective. Assistance from NGOs and social workers engaged in such activities would also be taken,” the SSP added.