Cops felicitate girls for imparting self-defence training to Cheetah squad

Bareilly: The auditorium at police lines here was packed to its full capacity on Monday afternoon. Among the many people seated were some dozen girls dressed in t-shirts and track pants next to senior superintendent of police (SSP) RK Bhardwaj. They were felicitated for their exemplary contribution in imparting unarmed combat training to Bareilly police’s Cheetah mobile squad.
The girls, hailing from different villages in the city’s outskirts, travelled several miles every day to train for a year of unarmed combat tactics. Each one had a personal story so far as their motivation to learn self-defence skills were concerned –many having faced harassment, molestation and other crimes. “Earlier we were discouraged to attend the training. But being felicitated in front of family and other villagers now would definitely send a positive message towards empowering women,” said Rinki Yadav, one of the trainers.
“It was an arduous task for many of them. After completing their daily chores at home and attending school, they would travel to Bareilly for training. These are a highly motivated bunch of girls who not only picked up the skills very fast but also reinvented themselves as trainers in a year’s time,” said mentor Amit Sinha.
Training at the police lines took place for over a fortnight. Speaking to TOI, superintendent of police (SP), city, Sameer Saurabh said, “The idea behind launching a fleet of Cheetah mobile fleet was to narrow down the response time of police when a crime is reported. It was necessary that these personnel be given training on unarmed combat tactics so that offenders are neutralised without the use of weapon.”
Cheetah mobile services was recently revamped to its new hi-tech avatar with the personnel now armed with a 9 mm pistols, latest handcuffs, helmets and pen cameras.
Gauri, another trainer, said, “A constable fainted during one of the sessions when I tried to demonstrate a technique in which one can neutralise her or his opponent by pressing a particular nerve on the throat. He regained conscious soon after.”
The police department is also looking forward to roping in their services to train their 400 women recruits. “We would like to congratulate the girls for putting in an extra-ordinary effort in learning self-defence skills. We thank them for their contribution to the department and hope to employ their expertise to train more personnel in the future,” said SSP Bhardwaj.