Hyderabad: Hyderabad City Police has added 15 Tata Punch EV Smart+ electric vehicles to its fleet. Authorities allotted seven to the Spandana teams, which work to protect women, children and the elderly. They assigned the other eight to law and order patrolling duties.
Telangana DGP C.V. Anand, IPS, flagged off the vehicles on Thursday at the CAR Headquarters in Petlaburj. Each vehicle has a 40 kWh battery and can run up to 468 km on a single charge. The vehicles can also move quickly through the city’s narrowest streets and lanes.
This helps Spandana staff reach victims in danger and give emergency help without delay. Hyderabad City Security Council (HCSC) provided the vehicles under corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Anand said patrol cars and Blue Colts vehicles at police stations usually stay busy with routine law and order duties and inquiries into petitions. Also recalled that the department set up special Spandana teams to act at once for the protection of women and children. He said the new vehicles have strengthened Spandana further.
He said Spandana coordinates closely with the Dial 112 control room
which sends vehicles to the spot within moments of a call. Anand thanked the donors who provided the vehicles under CSR and the HCSC. He said the vehicles help the teams act quickly on the ground.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar said the public has already responded strongly to the Spandana vehicles that the government introduced. He explained that the police acquired the new electric vehicles based on feedback from women police drivers on field duty. The vehicles will help teams reach victims faster even in narrow areas.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy launched Spandana, a women-led emergency response system, and it is winning strong support on the ground. Fourteen teams work across the city’s seven law and order zones. Each vehicle carries a woman driver, a civil woman constable and an armed reserve woman constable.
Field teams serve from 10 am to 12:30 am in two shifts, while the police control room stays available round the clock. Women officers reach the spot themselves, so victims can share their distress freely and without fear.
Spandana teams attended 8,903 complaints in 185 days
In the past 185 days, the teams attended a record 8,903 complaints. They resolved 1,900 issues through continuous counselling and 1,164 disputes through mutual compromise, which kept families from breaking up. After field inquiries, they referred 2,504 cases on serious matters to local police stations, and police registered 61 FIRs.
The teams also responded at once to sensitive incidents such as domestic violence, harassment and suicide attempts. They moved several people to Sakhi centres and shelter homes. They also traced four missing children safely and handed them to their parents.
Additional CP (Crimes) M. Srinivasulu, IPS, Additional CP (Law and Order) Tafseer Iqbal, IPS, and Joint CP (Traffic) D. Joel Davis, IPS, attended the event. DCP (CAR Headquarters) R. Venkateshwarlu, IPS, DCP (Traffic) B.K. Rahul Hegde, IPS, and DCP (Golconda Zone) J. Raghavendra Reddy also took part. So did DCP (Jubilee Hills Zone) A. Ramana Reddy, DCP (Women and Child Safety Wing) Dr P. Lavanya, IPS, and HCSC Secretary General Shekar Reddy.
Other police officers and the donors who gave the vehicles joined them.Additional CP (Crimes) M. Srinivasulu, IPS, Additional CP (Law and Order) Tafseer Iqbal, IPS, and Joint CP (Traffic) D. Joel Davis, IPS, attended the event. DCP (CAR Headquarters) R. Venkateshwarlu, IPS, DCP (Traffic) B.K. Rahul Hegde, IPS, and DCP (Golconda Zone) J. Raghavendra Reddy also took part. So did DCP (Jubilee Hills Zone) A. Ramana Reddy, DCP (Women and Child Safety Wing) Dr P. Lavanya, IPS, and HCSC Secretary General Shekar Reddy. Other police officers and the donors who gave the vehicles joined them.