Agartala: Gold medallist kickboxer Nistha Chakraborty will be appointed ambassador of women's empowerment in Tripura, official sources said.

Officer on special duty (OSD) to the chief minister, Sanjay Mishra, said the decision was taken at a review meeting here on Monday.

Addressing the review meeting at the state secretariat here on Monday, chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb asked officials to appoint Nistha as the ambassador of women's empowerment and said steps must be taken to stop crimes against women.

He called for massive awareness on the "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" campaign. In that context, Nistha will be projected as the ambassador of women's empowerment, he added.

Tripura is one of the states in the country with the highest number of crimes against women between 2010 and 2012, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). It also has one of the lowest rates of conviction in such cases. According to NCRB, the conviction rate in crimes against women in Tripura stand at 24.7 per cent.

Deb said his government was committed to reducing crimes against women and providing assistance to survivors of such crimes who were in need.

On May 31, the state government announced solatium for women survivors of crimes.

Reacting to the decision to appoint Nistha as the women's empowerment ambassador, her coach Pinaki Chakraborty said he was very happy. "It is a great achievement. I am personally very happy and since the state government has decided it, we welcome it and thank the government," Pinaki said.

Both Nistha and Pinaki on Tuesday met Tripura sports and youth affairs minister Manoj Kanti Deb here. The state government earlier supported her to join the Asian Kickboxing Championship held in Russia this year, where she bagged a gold and two silver medals in different categories.

Nistha's father, Hiralal Chakraborty, told The Telegraph that the family was "happy and indebted to the state government" for it's decision. "I am very happy about the decision. I am indebted to the state government. Nistha is also very happy and excited," he said.

Nistha won medals at World Association of Kickboxing Organisations (Wako) Asian Kickboxing championship held in Turkmenistan last year, including a gold medal. She is a student of humanities at Holy Cross College here.