Ghaziabad SO suspended for harassing couples

NEW DELHI: A day after TOI carried a report on how Ghaziabad police SO Alka (Pandey) Aggarwal and her team harassed couples in the name of cleansing the city of eve-teasing, SSP Raghuvir Lal suspended her, pending further inquiry.

"As the police's main job is to protect people, it is also our duty to protect their basic rights. We cannot misbehave with them in public. According to our preliminary inquiry, the officer has not behaved in an appropriate manner. Hence, we decided to suspend her," said Lal.

Meanwhile, the National Commission forWomen (NCW) has slammed 'Operation Majnu' - the Ghaziabad police's drive -where young couples were targeted at parks and malls and publicly humiliated. The commission has termed the behaviour of the police "retrograde" and "unfortunate". Commission chief Mamta Sharma said she would write to the UP government seeking action against the officer.

There have been similar attempts in Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Aligarh, where police officers have made couples perform sit-ups, pulled their ear, etc. NCW chairperson said this was a wrong step. "We are talking about going to the 22nd century, whereas the police are acting like they belong to the 19th century. All the couples were adults and if there was no vulgarity I don't see the reason behind such actions,'' Sharma said.

The youth in Ghaziabad were shocked by the way the police had behaved. "The cops come announced and pick up random couples. They hold men by the collar. Holding hands seems to be a crime. There are other grave crimes like kidnappings, murders and dowry deaths that need to be checked," said Tripthi Budalkothi, an engineering student. Residents had complained to TOI how even men accompanying women to markets were being hauled up.

A top cop of the district tried to stand up for the drive but admitted that the cops might have overstepped the mark. "The drive was against eve-teasers outside schools and colleges, and inside malls and theatres. The idea was to stop eve-teasing at all levels. I have not seen the video footage you are talking about, but I admit that there might have been some mistakes on a few occasions. Please do not just highlight these minor aberrations and understand the greater issue of safety of women. However, we will not violate anybody's basic rights,'' said SSP (Ghaziabad) Raghuvir Lal.

Source: TOI