Over 200 persons apprehended by Malkajgiri SHE Teams for harassing women in October

The Malkajgiri SHE Teams apprehended 206 persons, including 11 minors, for harassing women and girls in October.

According to the officials, SHE Teams received 220 complaints related to harassment through phone calls, social media and physical contact. Of the 206 persons apprehended between October 1 and 31, 195 were adults and 11 were minors. The complaints included 61 cases of harassment through phone calls, 70 through social media applications and 89 involving direct or physical harassment.

Police registered 14 criminal cases, booked 106 petty cases and provided counselling to 96 persons in the presence of their family members, with the assistance of professional counsellors. The counselling sessions were conducted at the Commissioner of Police’s Camp Office in LB Nagar under the supervision of the DCP, Women Safety.

In one case, a man was booked for allegedly threatening to circulate a woman’s personal photographs and videos on social media after she refused to continue their association. He had reportedly been following and abusing her for around a year.

In a separate case, a minor was taken into custody and sent to a Juvenile Home for assaulting and blackmailing a 17-year-old girl. They got acquainted through Instagram, police said. The accused had allegedly demanded money and threatened to circulate their personal photographs and videos.

Apart from enforcement, SHE Teams conducted 128 awareness programmes during October, reaching around 15,852 people and educating them about women’s rights, relevant laws, crimes and safety precautions.

During decoy operations in Metro trains, six men were found travelling in women-only compartments and were fined by the metro station authorities.

Malkajgiri Police Commissioner B. Sumathi said that the police would not spare those harassing women and girls, and urged victims to lodge complaints without fear. She said SHE Teams were conducting decoy operations in plain clothes at bus stands, railway stations, metro stations, public transport buses, educational institutions, vegetable markets and other public places.

Women facing harassment can contact the Malkajgiri SHE Teams through WhatsApp on 8712662111 or approach their respective area teams.