UP Government to Display Posters of Sexual Harassment Accused at Road Crossings
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government will put up posters carrying pictures of people accused of sexual harassment and other crimes against women at prominent road crossings in the state.
The directions were issued by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath to "instil confidence" among women and check crime against them, an official spokesperson said on Thursday.
"The CM at a high-level meeting here on Thursday directed to put up posters of those involved in crimes against women at prominent crossings. He has also directed that those involved in such crimes should be punished by women police," the spokesman said.
The CM said in case of any crime against a woman, police officers of the area, such as the SHO and circle officer, will be made responsible.
The anti-Romeo squads – constituted to control incidents of molestation and cases of sexual harassment – have been made more active and the CM hailed their efforts, the official said.
Earlier, the UP government had put up hoardings of some of those accused of violence during the anti-CAA protests in Lucknow in December, with their names and photos. They were also asked to pay compensation for damage to public property in the state during the violence. The move came under criticism from the Allahabad high court, which asked the government to take down the pictures.
Also read: How Women Who File Rape Charges Have to Walk Through a Hazardous Journey of Securing Justice
Additional chief secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi stressed on building a better image of police so that women could trust them.
According to a statement, Awasthi reviewed efforts made by police for women security in Allahabad, Agra, Bareilly, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Varanasi and Gorakhpur.
Since the constitution of the anti-Romeo squads, more than 83 lakh people have been checked at over 35 lakh places , including schools, colleges, markets, malls and parks, the statement said.
FIRs have been lodged against 7,351 people while 11,564 arrested, it said.
At the meeting, Awasthi instructed officials concerned that any untoward incident against women and girls should be stopped and strict action should be taken against the culprits.
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