HYDERABAD: When 19-year-old Naveen was catcalling at girls at Koti bus stop, little did he know that he would land up in court with eve-teasing case slapped against him. Similarly, 16-year-old Ismail never thought passing distasteful comments would change his attitude towards the whole idea of teasing. All thanks to the newly formed She Teams in the city, women and girls are able to breathe easy.
She Teams, comprising women constables and a sub-inspectors in civil dress, which were set up nearly a month ago by the Hyderabad police to keep a check on eve-teasing, has so far caught 80 eve-teasers aged between 17 and 35 through decoy operations.
Of them, 16 were produced in the special metropolitan magistrate court in Nampally, where six people were jailed for two days, two people were fined and jailed for three days, while the other eight were fined with an amount of `50. Others will be produced in the court.
Police called the family members of the accused to the police station and the accused were given a thorough counseling on the subject. “Parents have been extremely co-operative and have ensured that they will keep a close watch on their wards here after,” informed Swati Lakra, additional commissioner of police, further adding, “it has changed the minds of the accused and most of them have voluntarily taken part in promoting aniti eve-teasing campaign.”
During the course of their operations, the She Teams have so far identified areas such as St Anns College, Mehedipatnam, Dilsuknagar NRI College, Vani Women’s College, Koti and areas like Narayanaguda, Tankbund and Secunderabad are most prone for eve-teasing. “If the accused are caught repeatedly committing the crime, we will book them under the Nirbhaya Act,” warned Swati Lakra.
In an attempt to create awareness about the campaign, She Teams have been visiting hostels and colleges urging people to come forward and Dial 100 to lodge complain against eve-teasers. “We will be coordinating with the education department to include self defence techniques as a part of syllabus,” Swati Lakra said.