Bhubaneswar, Oct. 27: Police today launched a self-defence training module, focusing on unarmed combat for women.

School and college students will undergo training, which is aimed to help them tackle eve teasers and goons.

The three-week training programme will be held at the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar police headquarters with each batch consisting of 60 girls.

A senior officer said police officials trained in martial arts would impart the training.

The programme will include training in the gymnasium, boxing, hand movements, blocks and punches. The participants will be taught how to take on assailants by attacking their various body parts. The first batch of girls is likely to complete the course on November 16.

“To prevent crime against women, we should build up confidence and awareness among them. With necessary awareness and training, women will be able to resist attacks. Such training should be given at the police station level,” said chief secretary Gokul Chandra Pati.

A police official said the absence of resistance to eve teasing was the major reason why the offenders got encouraged. “In the first phase, the girl students of schools and colleges will become a part of the programme. In future, we will extend the training programme to women professionals and home-makers,” said police commissioner R.P. Sharma.

The training will be carried out both in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. While 84 rape cases were reported in the twin cities in 2012, 81 cases were reported in 2013. The number of rape cases reported in the twin cities by September end this year was 88.

“We are hopeful that the number of eve teasing cases and rape cases will decrease once the girls are trained to tackle offenders,” said a police official.

At the programme launch, the trainers demonstrated a few tricks, which can help girls save themselves.

“This was a wonderful experience for us when the trainers demonstrated the trick by which we can easily resist the criminals. I will definitely become a part of this training programme,” said Radhika, a Class X student.

The police have already introduced pink autorickshaw (a women priority vehicle) and the Instant Complaint Logging Internet Kiosk (ICLIK) project in January. The kiosk, an ATM look-alike device, was installed in an ATM booth at Saheed Nagar to encourage women to lodge their grievances through it.

However, lack of awareness among the residents still poses a major problem in the city.

“We will launch a campaign to make women aware about the kiosks and pink autorickshaws,” said a police official.