Delhi Police has started forming special squads in every district to curb the activities of hooligans apart from preventing crimes like molestation and indecency with women in public places. These “anti-eve teasing” or “SHISHTACHAR” squads of Delhi Police will keep an eye on such sensitive and crowded places where crimes against women create a feeling of insecurity among women.
Not waiting for a phone call, these squads will be present on the roads, streets and intersections and will take action in ‘real time’. Their responsibilities include preventing crime, catching the criminals, investigating the case and ensuring strict punishment for them.
Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, in his order signed on March 8, said, “These squads will consist of trained personnel who will prevent such crimes on a real-time basis”.
Each district of Delhi Police will have at least two anti-harassment squads, headed by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) of the Crime Against Women Cell of the district. Each squad will consist of an inspector, a sub-inspector and four female and five male police officers (assistant sub-inspectors, head constables and constables). Police personnel from the special staff or Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS) will accompany the squad for technical support.
These squads will primarily focus on “hotspots and areas” where there is a risk to the safety of women. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of each district will identify and list the hotspots. But the squads have been asked to “focus on enforcing the law rather than imposing personal or cultural morals” on people.
