Haryana gets its own anti-Romeo squad ‘Operation Durga’; at least 70 arrests on Day 1

Now, members of Operation Durga in Haryana will ensure safety of women in public places.

Chandigarh, April 13: Following on the footsteps of Uttar Pradesh, the Haryana government launched its own anti-Romeo squad, with a slight twist in name on Wednesday, say reports.

Instead of calling the group entrusted with safety of women as anti-Romeo squad like in Uttar Pradesh, in Haryana it is known as Operation Durga, based on the Hindu goddess.

Immediately after its launch, members of Operation Durga nabbed 72 people from across the state on Wednesday. Like in anti-Romeo squads, members of Operation Durga belong to the police and they are entrusted with the duty to nab and question eve-teasers and molesters.

The teams comprise woman personnel, including nine Sub-inspectors of Police, 14 assistant sub-inspectors, six head constables and 13 constables, besides other police officers from each district.

On day one, the teams visited public places such as schools, colleges, bus stands and railway stations and nabbed persons indulging in crimes against women, including eve teasing, said a police spokesperson.

He said the Haryana government has set up women police stations in all districts to ensure safety of women and provide them with a safe place for lodging complaints. But it had been observed that women hesitated in reporting incidents involving such anti-social elements, he added.

"Therefore, the campaign was undertaken after identifying places where such anti-social elements were indulging in eve teasing, vulgar comments, stalking and other similar activities," he added.

The anti-Romeo squads started functioning after the Bharatiya Janata Party formed its government under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in UP recently. The formation of anti-Romeo squads was a part of the BJP's poll manifesto.

While many women and girls have welcomed the move to punish eve-teasers and stalkers, many complaints have been lodged against the members of anti-Romeo squads for harassing boys and men for merely talking to girls in UP.

OneIndia News