A police officer needs to search a person whom the law protects against custodial indignity. Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the settled safeguards concerning the search of a person, a search of a WOMAN:

The BNSS incorporates the settled rule that whenever it is necessary to cause a woman to be SEARCHED, the search shall be made by ANOTHER woman with strict regard to decency, and this applies to searches conducted under the code's search provisions (including searches of the person by police officers in certain contexts). The safeguard protects the dignity and bodily integrity of women in police/custodial procedures. Stripping or indecent search is forbidden, and aggravated/serious offences under the Sanhita reflect this protective stance. The 'search of a woman by a woman with regard to decency' is an enduring, exam-stable rule.