Chandigarh :
Punjab Police’s Saanjh Rahat Kendras, established to provide integrated support, counselling and rehabilitation services to women in distress, have emerged as an effective community policing initiative, assisting more than 1,000 women over the past two years.
The initiative, which began with trained counsellors at four centres in Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana and Jalandhar, has expanded significantly. According to Punjab Police, the Kendras have registered 1,069 cases and screened 1,656 cases during the last two years.
Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the Kendras are helping women overcome trauma through counselling, crisis intervention and rehabilitation. He said the initiative reflects Punjab Police’s commitment to strengthening public safety through community partnership and trust.
Highlighting the impact of the programme, the DGP cited the successful rescue of a domestic violence survivor in Mohali, where the Saanjh Rahat Kendra team ensured her immediate safety and shifted her to her parental home. In another case, the team provided continuous counselling and medical support to a critically ill woman, assisted her treatment at PGI, helped her secure employment after recovery and worked towards reconnecting her with her family.
The Punjab Police also highlighted other women-centric initiatives. Under the Jagriti Programme, Mahila Mittars have sensitised over 11.75 lakh children in 12,482 schools, besides conducting awareness sessions for more than 76,000 teachers and staff over the last two years
Additionally, under the Women Help Desks initiative, Punjab Police has organised over 69,000 awareness programmes in the last five years on issues including cybercrime, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, child marriage, juvenile justice, drug abuse and gender sensitisation.
Special DGP (Community Affairs Division) Gurpreet Kaur Deo said the SAANJH ecosystem, comprising over 530 SAANJH Kendras across Punjab since its inception in 2011, continues to provide citizen-centric services, counselling, legal assistance and police support to women in need, helping bridge a critical gap in victim support services.
