106 held by She Teams for harassing women

Hyderabad: A swimming coach, a school teacher and an RTC bus conductor were among 106 persons caught by the Rachakonda She Teams for harassing women in the last 10 weeks. There were 41 minors too among those nabbed for these offences.

Officials said the She Teams had also prevented four child marriages in the same period. They had booked 82 cases, including 29 First Information Reports and 36 petty cases during this period, when complaints were received from girls and women from various sources including directly, through WhatsApp and via social media from different hotspots like metro trains, stations, bus stops, work places and colleges across the Rachakonda Police limits.

Those caught attended mandatory counselling sessions conducted by trained counsellors and professional psychologists at the Police Commissioner's camp office at LB Nagar.

According to She Teams officials, out of the 106 persons caught, 41 were minors, who were counselled by senior psychologists.

In one case, an English language teacher from a government girls' high school harassed two students of Class Seven by stalking and misbehaving with them on the school premises. He was booked by the Maheshwaram police and was arrested.

In another case, the swimming coach of a private school in Boduppal threatened and raped a married woman, who was the mother of his student. He also extorted cash from her.

In a similar case, in July, a RTC conductor was caught for misbehaving with a woman passenger who boarded the bus at Medipally. As the victim did not intend to lodge a complaint, the officials counselled the suspect.

As part of Operation Muskan-VIII, the She Teams along with the Child Welfare Committee members rescued 50 orphans from unauthorised shelters and shifted them to government homes.

Apart from this, several persons were caught during decoy operations at Choutuppal, Bhongir, Kushaiguda, Ibrahimpatnam, Malkajgiri, Vanasthalipuram and LB Nagar. The She Teams also prevented four child marriages in Ibrahimpatnam and Bhongir areas. Till date, the teams have prevented 152 child marriages across the commissionerate, officials said.

Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat appreciated the work of She Teams and urged women to approach She Teams through the Rachakonda WhatsApp control number – 9490617111 or Dial 100 when in need of help.