Hyderabad: In a bid to curb eve teasing, the Telangana government is contemplating to bring in a law to deal with the menace and has forwarded a proposal in this regard to the Centre, a senior police official said today.
The highlight of the new law will be hefty fines that will be imposed on the convicts, said the official.
“We are planning to put in place a law through anti- Eve-Teasing Act. A proposal has already been forwarded by the Telangana government to the Centre. It is pending with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and we will be pursuing it,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Crimes and SIT) Swati Lakra said.
“…hopefully in the coming months this Act will be in place…The major aspect of the proposed Act will be imposing higher fines ranging between Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 for the convicts which will act as a great deterrent for people committing such offences in future,” Swati said addressing a programme on ‘Women’s Safety’ organised by FICCI FLO Hyderabad Chapter here.
She said Tamil Nadu already has an anti Eve Teasing Act and on similar lines Telangana is planning to have a law.
On the roving ‘SHE Teams’ a wing of Hyderabad Police, which is tasked with cracking down on eve-teasers and stalkers, Swati said several states have replicated ‘SHE Teams’ concept.
“Through SHE Teams an operation is carried out with video evidence, ensuring that no innocent person is being booked. There is hardly any repeat offender as once an eve-teaser is caught he is counselled in front of his family members,” she explained.
“We have several laws in place to ensure protection of women and they need to be aware of these existing laws,” Swati added.
Telangana Director General of Police Anurag Sharma said it is not the number of laws that makes a difference but it is how they are implemented and how deterrent they are.
“The perception of the society has to change…it is not only that by fear of law or fear of punishment you can change the outlook of the society…it is a social change that has to come,” the Telangana police chief said.
—PTI