With crime against women on the rise, they needed a drastic solution. Meet Assam’s Veerangana: a highly trained, all-female squad who are patrolling the streets to make a difference.
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00:00Meet the Virangana, India's first all-female commando unit.
00:12Look at this guy, unnecessarily trying to create a girl's outfit as if these girls
00:18would be able to make a difference.
00:20They are Assam's first line of defense against eve-teasing and harassment.
00:24Some enlisting in the face of great personal sacrifice.
00:54The Virangana are commandos who are specially trained to tackle offenses against women.
01:20They have distinctive black and purple uniforms and patrol the streets of Guwahati to help
01:24maintain the peace.
01:26Assam's rate of crime against women was three times the national average in 2019.
01:31Out of every one lakh Assamese women, at least 177 had faced some kind of attack that year,
01:37according to India's official crime data.
01:39The Virangana are hoping to lower that number.
01:45Their training takes place at a remote camp in the hills outside of Guwahati.
01:50Brute journalist Neeti Upadhyay was given special access to see exactly what these
01:59female commandos go through to prepare for duty.
02:19When I was in the public, I would wake up at six in the morning.
02:24After training, everyone would wake up at six in the morning.
02:32I'm going to brush my teeth.
02:34Arrghh!
02:36I don't have time.
02:38One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.
02:45If they see me in a black uniform, they'll think I'm crazy.
02:51One, two, three.
02:59In 2012, the Virangana was formed out of necessity.
03:04Crime was on the rise, and it was going to take something drastic to make a difference.
03:13Some police personnel were sceptical.
03:15I mean, look at this guy.
03:17Unnecessarily trying to create a girl's outfit as if these girls would be able to make a difference.
03:23Billiard ready?
03:29That kind of scepticism used to be galore.
03:33I won't say it's not there anymore.
03:35It is there, but then Virangana is respected now.
03:37They have earned it by way of discharging very high-quality duty.
03:43The Virangana battalion only accepts around 50 new recruits every year.
03:49In advanced training, the women learn how to handle weapons in sensitive situations,
03:57maintain control during a domestic riot,
04:01and execute hand-to-hand combat.
04:05Right.
04:07Hit.
04:09Virangana is a very demanding training.
04:11It is very motivating.
04:13I can handle it.
04:15I can handle it.
04:17I can handle it.
04:19But I can't work with a few trainees.
04:21So I put pressure on them to work harder.
04:25Hit.
04:27Hit.
04:29Hit.
04:31It is very difficult for me.
04:33When I work, I have to run.
04:35When I run, I feel like I have to run.
04:37I feel like I have to run.
04:39I feel like I have to run.
04:41I feel like I have to run.
04:43There are a lot of people like me who work very hard.
04:45If it was possible, I wouldn't have given up.
04:47Very good.
04:49Very good.
04:51Very good.
04:53Very good.
04:55Very good.
04:57Hit.
04:59Very good.
05:01Very good.
05:03Very good.
05:05Hit.
05:07Hit.
05:09The Virangana unit's specialty,
05:11the silent rite.
05:13A complex, memorized routine,
05:15only performed by the U.S. Marines.
05:19The silent rite is a very difficult skill.
05:23You have to show the rise-up.
05:26While the end result looks effortless,
05:28the rigorous training does not come without risks.
05:31Many of the girls have suffered injuries on the job.
05:56Yes, sir, we have to do this.
05:58It's fun.
06:14In the field, the recruits have to be tough.
06:17So downtime in the barracks is when the girls can let loose.
06:20With only a few days off a year,
06:22this is their home away from home.
06:25I love you.
06:27I love you.
06:31In the barrack life,
06:33the girls have to deal with
06:35all kinds of problems.
06:37Language problems,
06:39food problems,
06:41and so on.
06:43All these problems
06:45have to be addressed
06:47as a family.
06:49We have to live together
06:51as a family.
06:55I love you.
06:57I love you.
07:01In the third episode,
07:03we had to dance.
07:05We had to decide
07:07which side to put the mic on
07:09and which side to put the box.
07:11We had to choose which side to put the box on.
07:13It was a difficult time.
07:15Sometimes, we were late.
07:17Sometimes, we were late.
07:19We had to wear our uniforms.
07:21We had to wear our uniforms.
07:23They helped us in many ways.
07:25We were struggling.
07:27And also the dancers
07:29had to sing and dance
07:31to overcome the difficulties.
07:33That's how we got late.
07:45For some,
07:47the difficult road to becoming a Virangana
07:49began long before training.
07:51Kaberi Kathar wanted to join the Assam Police to help support her struggling family.
07:56But after marrying at 20, her in-laws had other plans.
08:21I was abused by my in-laws.
08:24I told my in-laws that I was beaten up by my in-laws.
08:31They said that I was a rumour.
08:35I had a milk carton with me.
08:39I used that milk carton to get home.
08:44Sanjeevani Shargyari was driven to serve by her own childhood trauma of sexual assault.
08:50I was very sad.
08:53I was very sad.
08:55I had to rest.
08:57I was very tired.
08:59I was very tired.
09:01I had to go to the market.
09:03I was in a bad situation.
09:05I was married.
09:07I was very young.
09:09I didn't believe in any other God.
09:12Kaberi left her marriage but Sanjeevani is still carrying the burden of her assault.
09:16Training with the Virangana has given these women the strength to move forward
09:20and help protect others from a similar fate.
09:23Help! Help! Help!
09:27Move!
09:28I have been abused a lot by the Virangana.
09:31I have been abused a lot by the Virangana.
09:34I have been abused a lot by the Virangana.
09:37Help! Help! Help!
09:40I have been abused a lot by the Virangana.
09:45I am able to face the situation now.
09:50I am able to face the situation now.
09:52I am able to raise my voice now.
10:09After 3 months of Special Training, the Virangana are ready to hit the streets.
10:13Their job is to constantly be on the lookout for anyone harassing women or causing a scene.
10:43The commandos have also been helping to test out a new call response system that's yet to be rolled out across Assam.
11:01This call was part of a dry run.
11:04Once an emergency is recorded, a dispatcher will alert the Virangana to jump into action.
11:14Please sit down.
11:16If you have an accident, do you have a gun?
11:20Which gun do you need?
11:22This one?
11:24Yes.
11:37We like to give people petrol at night.
11:41We don't want anything wrong to happen in the city.
11:50It's unclear if the Virangana will make an impact on the recorded cases of crimes against women throughout Assam.
11:57But anecdotally, they've noticed a difference within Kuwahati.
12:19We're here for training.
12:23Once the training is over, we'll go on duty.
12:29We'll see what happens.
12:33We'll try to help.
12:49For more information, visit www.fema.gov