Paradip: Jagatsinghpur district police have launched a drive to rescue and rehabilitate mentally challenged women abandoned by their families and rendered homeless.

"The ongoing drive has managed to rescue 20 distressed and mentally-ill women and all of them have been rehabilitated. Most of them were found on the streets wandering aimless. There were instances of such helpless and defenceless women being physically abused," said Jagatsinghpur police superintendent Jai Narayan Pankaj.

"A mentally challenged woman was spotted roaming around Balikuda. Her identity could not be established as she is undergoing bouts of psychiatric disorder. The mobile patrolling squad rescued and sent her to government-run mental health institute in Cuttack. The drive, undertaken in the recent past, has found 20 mentally unstable and abandoned women. The rescued are now either in short-stay home or under medical attention at the mental institute. Most of them were poor and disowned by their family. They had been deserted as their family members could not bear the exorbitant cost of psychiatric treatment," Pankaj said.

The initiative was launched in the aftermath of an incident, in which a mentally ill woman of a particular community was allegedly raped by a man from the other community. The offence had sparked off communal tension. "The sexual abuse of the victim spurred us to undertake the mission of rescuing these women. Though rescuing or rehabilitating the deserted the women is not our responsibility, we have taken up the job on humanitarian ground," he said.

The district police had also announced Rs 2,000 cash incentive on information on mentally challenged women abandoned by their families and found on the streets. People have lent support to the police in tracing the distressed women. However, many informers refused the cash incentive as they judged this to be a noble work.

"It's a good initiative by the police. The district social security officer has been asked to assist police in the rescue act," said Jagatsinghur collector Yamini Sadangi. It's a praiseworthy initiative on part of the police. There is gross absence of mental health care facilities in the state. That's why, the mentally challenged people are being deprived of timely medical attention and counselling," said Binayak Swain, a social activist.