1st training held for Shishtachar squads in Delhi | Latest News Delhi

NEW DELHI

The newly constituted “Shishtachar” or “anti Eve-teasing” squads of the Delhi Police have started to check incidents of harassment of women in public spaces, hours after a training session held on the day, wherein officers were directed to conduct random checks in buses by asking women passengers if they were being troubled, and hold checks at markets, bus stops and outside educational institutions as part of their duties.

Officers being deployed on the ground were directed not to lecture women on their attire or the way they conduct themselves, and also not to target couples sitting in public spaces, such as parks. However, they were asked to initiate suo motu action in harassment cases.

“To make this initiative a success, members of the squad should identify the opening and closing time of schools and colleges, visit them in plainclothes and ask girls if anyone is troubling them. Go to crowded markets and bus stops and do the same. This exercise will not be fruitful if you just make rounds and come back. You must voluntarily approach women and speak to them,” assistant commissioner of police Yogesh Malhotra said at the training session.

The training session was conducted at the Wazirabad police training academy on Wednesday, and was attended by around 350 police officers of different ranks. An advocate, a retired deputy commissioner of police, and three assistant commissioners of police held the training.

Under the initiative, two squads will be deployed in each police district, officers said, adding each squad will comprise one inspector, one sub-inspector, four female personnel and five male personnel. The squads will be supervised by ACP (crime against women cell).

ACP Malhotra said that officers should “proactively” question groups of men loitering outside a college or school. “Stop DTC buses plying on the roads, board them and see if men are sitting on seats reserved for women. Speak to women on buses and ask them if anyone is troubling them,” he said.

The trainers also emphasised that the squads should not get caught up in moral policing and must speak politely to women.

Detailing the procedure to be followed when a woman shares a complaint, ACP Anil Kumar said, “Do not lecture them about how they should conduct themselves or on what they’re wearing. We are a free country where people can wear and do as they please. Do not question couples sitting in parks. When you enter, they shouldn’t feel that they should leave because you have come, they should feel they can stay because you have come.”

Officers were also directed to extend all possible help to harassed women, even if they didn’t wish to file a complaint. “Assist them if they need you to make calls to a man who is troubling her. Don’t force her to lodge a formal complaint,” Malhotra said.

The squads were asked to identify hot spots in each district and take suo motu action. “Identify the hot spots, take action against people and create a database of repeat offenders,” LN Rao, who served as a DCP of Delhi Police, said.

Previously, Delhi Police have taken initiatives, such as pink booths, all-women police posts and pink scooters driven by women police officials, but their existence on the ground, according to Delhi residents, did not yield good results.

“The difference in approach this time is that officials have been asked to approach women themselves instead of waiting for them to approach us – which we hope will better the situation on the ground,” a senior police officer at the training session said on condition of anonymity.