Hyderabad: Minor boys and senior citizens have been arrested for harassing women on the streets. Cyberabad police has arrested 264 people through decoy operations this year so far. Among them were 15 minor boys and four senior citizens.
Unlike previous years, at least 50 people have been sent to judicial remand according to the gravity of their crimes. Half of them were arrested following complaints on the police WhatsApp service.
Senior officials from SHE teams say that the counselling sessions conducted for these offenders were yielding results, especially among minor boys. “These teenagers are called for counselling along with their parents. Many of them were not taught at their homes to respect women.
After counselling, most of them leave with teary eyes and promise not to repeat the offence again,” said the official, adding that parents also appreciate the police’s efforts to counsel the teenagers.
If there are only petty cases against them, the offenders, irrespective of their age, are counseled at the Crime Against Women (CAW) Cell in Cyberabad Commissionerate by counsellors.
The four seniors, who are aged above 50, had believed that they would never get caught while teasing women. But after the police detained them, they realised the gravity of their offense and were embarrassed to inform their families, an official said
Police said the largest number of offenders were aged between 18 and 30 and most of them were students. “This year we caught 185 people in this age group. 33 were aged between 30 and 40 and 11 belonged to the age group of 40 to 50,” said an officer.
Apart from eve teasing, if there are serious offences, the SHE team usually files an FIR against the offender. 47 FIRs were filed in the last three months and 50 people were arrested and sent to judicial remand.
