Bihar has flagged off 4,700 two-wheelers for its Abhaya Brigade, popularly known as ‘Police Didi’, to strengthen the safety of women and girls around schools, colleges, universities and other public spaces.
Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary launched the vehicles at Gyan Bhawan in Patna on August 26, with 2,700 scooters allocated to women police personnel and 2,000 motorcycles to male constables.
The move is aimed at making police patrols more mobile and visible, particularly around the times when students arrive at and leave educational institutions. Bihar Police DGP Vinay Kumar said women’s safety was “the most important responsibility of the police”, adding that the new vehicles would enable dedicated patrols around educational institutions and adjoining areas.
Home Secretary Pankaj Kumar called the deployment “a new milestone” in strengthening women’s security and said it was expected to help control offences, particularly smaller incidents occurring in streets and lanes near colleges.
The latest deployment builds on the Abhaya Brigade framework announced in December 2025, which envisages dedicated teams at police stations to identify harassment hotspots, intervene lawfully and maintain contact with educational institutions. The government has also said emergency service 112 now has a response time of under 10 minutes, with a target of reducing it to five to seven minutes.
Taking Preventive Policing Closer To Students
The 4,700 vehicles are being distributed across districts from Patna, with the deployment designed around where and when students may be most vulnerable.
DGP Vinay Kumar said two-hour beats have been fixed in cities, centred on colleges, with patrol timings adjusted to coincide with school and college arrival and dispersal hours. When educational institutions are closed, the teams will patrol surrounding areas instead.
The strategy extends beyond school and college gates: Abhaya Brigade teams have been tasked with identifying harassment hotspots around isolated routes, markets, parks and transit points, and taking lawful action against offenders.
They are also expected to maintain communication with educational institutions and spread awareness about Dial-112. For the women officers receiving the scooters, the vehicles are intended to provide greater mobility and allow them to reach these locations more effectively.
A Statewide Policing Framework
The Abhaya Brigade was announced by Bihar Police Headquarters in December 2025, after then Home Minister Samrat Choudhary had spoken about deploying special squads outside schools and colleges to curb harassment and ‘eve-teasing’.
Under the framework, an Abhaya Brigade unit at every police station is headed by a woman Sub-Inspector and supported by three constables, including one woman and two men. The latest vehicle deployment gives this structure greater mobility and is intended to take preventive policing into the everyday spaces surrounding educational institutions.
The August 26 programme was also part of a broader set of women-focused measures: the government launched the Chief Minister Balika PhD Fellowship, offering around 1,000 women students Rs 10,000 a month for four years for higher education and research, and the Bihar Ki Beti Startup Challenge, which will provide financial assistance of Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh to 2,100 women entrepreneurs.
Choudhary said the government was working towards creating a safer environment for women and girls while expanding their opportunities for education and economic participation.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Making women police officers more mobile and placing dedicated teams closer to schools, colleges and student routes is a constructive step towards making safety a part of everyday public life rather than something addressed only after an incident occurs.
But a police vehicle, however visible, is only one part of the solution. Lasting safety also depends on responsive policing, accessible reporting mechanisms, institutional cooperation, accountability and public spaces where girls and women can travel without fear or harassment.
The success of the Abhaya Brigade should therefore be judged not simply by how many scooters are deployed, but by whether students experience a genuine and sustained improvement in their freedom to study, commute and participate in public life. Can preventive policing of this kind become a model for making everyday mobility safer while also building greater trust between young people and the police?
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