-- Recently, my wife took our three children and left the house in Bachrawan
after an argument. I had contacted her father in Lucknow to bring her back.
Now, they may get me implicated in a false case. Please listen to my plea
before lodging a case against me.
These are just a few instances that reach the Mahila police station
through post every month. They narrate the travails of husbands victimised by
their wives. The Mahila police station receives as many as two dozen such
letters every month.
While the Mahila police station is empowered to deal with cases related to
women, they are at a loss when it comes to complaints from husbands.
''This police station is meant to serve only women. There is no dearth of
police stations for the husbands to go to. They can approach any police station
and lodge their complaints against their wives,'' says Minakshi Sharma, Station
House Officer of the Mahila police station.
Sharma feels that such husbands find it demeaning to approach a policeman on
this matter.
''Bibi ka maar khane ke baad thana mein ye face dikhana nahin chahte (after
being beaten up by his wife, no husband wants to show his face to a
policeman),'' she says.
The Parivar Paramarsh Kendra was started keeping in mind such cases.
With the rise in such letters, the police found the family counselling centre a
viable alternative.
''If a person mentions his address or telephone number in the letter, we ask
him to visit the family counselling centre to seek help. Every Sunday, marriage
counsellors are invited on the Police Line premises to solve marital
problems,'' Sharma says.
