Uttar Pradesh government is planning to name and shame all offenders of sexual harassment and other crimes against women at prominent road crossings in the State. On Thursday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath instructed officials of the state to put up posters that will showcase photographs of men accused of crimes against women at eminent road crossings.
Police Officials To Be Held Responsible
An official spokesperson told media,
The CM at a high-level meeting in Lucknow on Thursday directed to put up posters of those involved in crimes against women at prominent crossings. He (CM Yogi) has also directed that those involved in such crimes should be punished by women police.
The CM further added that police officers of the area such as the SHO and Circle Officer will be held responsible in case of any crime against women. Speaking on the matter, an official said that this will be an extension to the the initiative involving the “anti-Romeo squads” in all the districts of the state to ensure a sense of security amongst women. They have been made more active and the CM also hailed their efforts.
Another reason for hiring them was to bring control over the incidents of molestation and harassment to women.
Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi emphasized on establishing a better image of state police so that women could trust and rely on them. Awasthi incidentally has also studied efforts made by police for women security in Allahabad, Agra, Bareilly, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Varanasi, and Gorakhpur.
Awasthi also made it clear to the concerned officials in the meeting, that any improper incident against women and girls should be stopped and strict action should be taken against the culprits.
The opposition party leaders have time and again questioned the law and order situation in UP after several crimes against women were reported.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi and brother Rahul Gandhi, both have criticised the state government earlier for failing to ensure the safety of women. They have also called it “jungle raj” of caste based violence and crimes against women under the current dispensation.
Anti-Romeo Squads
The Anti-Romeo squads were launched in 2017 immediately after Yogi Adityanath took over as the UP chief minister. However, there began a lot of moral policing and harassing of consenting couples in public. The squad mostly hit headlines when it indulged in giving some on-the-spot punishment to the ‘Romeos’ and made them murga (do sit ups in public), shaved their heads and smeared faces of couples.
After the establishment of the anti-Romeo squads, over 83 lakh people have been checked at more than 35 lakh places, including colleges, markets, schools, malls and parks, disclosed the statement. The official statement also mentioned that FIRs had been filed against 7,351 people while 11,564 arrested.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had to issue a directive to the UP Police, asking these squads to follow proper legal guidelines.
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