Delhi Police is setting up “anti-eve teasing” or “Shishtachar” squads to enhance women’s safety in public places. These squads will focus on law enforcement rather than imposing moral standards. The initiative, detailed in the BJP’s manifesto for the 2025 Delhi Assembly Elections, will deploy trained personnel, including police officers and female staff, to combat harassment. Each district will have at least two squads concentrating on identified hotspots. They will conduct daily operations in vulnerable areas, interact with public transport staff, and assist victims sensitively. This initiative follows a similar drive in Uttar Pradesh aimed at curtailing harassment.
New Delhi:
The Delhi Police’s “anti-eve teasing” or “Shishtachar” (etiquette) squads are set to patrol public areas throughout the city to enhance women’s safety. These squads are instructed to “emphasize law enforcement rather than imposing personal or cultural morality on individuals.” This initiative by the Delhi Police aims to address crimes against women, particularly “eve-teasing,” a term frequently used to denote harassment of women.
As part of its manifesto for the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025, the BJP pledged to deploy “Anti-Romeo Squads” in all public areas and establish a network of CCTV cameras throughout Delhi for improved safety and security.
“These teams will consist of trained personnel dedicated to preventing, deterring, and responding to such offenses in real-time,” stated an order signed by Sanjay Arora, Commissioner of Police, on March 8.
Every district will have at least two anti-harassment squads led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) from the district’s Crime Against Women Cell. Each squad will include an inspector, a sub-inspector, along with four female and five male police officers (Assistant Sub-Inspectors, head constables, and constables).
Officers from special staff or the Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS) will support the squad with technical assistance.
The primary focus of the squads will be on “hotspots and vulnerable areas” that pose threats to women’s safety. District Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) will pinpoint and compile a list of these hotspots.
The squad is required to conduct operations at a minimum of two vulnerable locations each day.
“The squads will employ a comprehensive strategy involving prevention, intervention, and victim support,” noted the directives.
Squad members will wear civilian clothing to better identify and deter potential offenders.
“The squads will carry out surprise inspections in public transport, engage with DTC drivers, conductors, and passengers, and encourage them to report any incidents,” the directives further detailed.
District DCPs are responsible for ensuring the squads operate with sensitivity, empathy, and motivation, emphasizing that “victims should be shielded from unnecessary public scrutiny or embarrassment.”
This initiative follows the Uttar Pradesh police’s “anti-Romeo” campaign launched in 2017 aimed at addressing the issue of men harassing women.