Noida Police to ‘Red Card’ Men Found Harassing Women

The cards will be handed out based on suspicions of the state’s ‘anti-Romeo squads’.

A red card will also mean that the harasser’s personal details, including his address and contact number, will be taken down by police in an official register. Photo: Ian Burt/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

New Delhi: In an effort to make the streets safer for women, Noida police will now hand out ‘red cards’ to men who harass them. The red cards will act as warnings.

Like in the sports from which the measure is inspired, a red card will also mean that the harasser’s personal details, including his address and contact number, will be taken down in an official register the police will maintain for this purpose. They will act, primarily, as deterrents and warnings and will be issued not just to people actively bothering women but also to those loitering outside education institutions and other public places.

Gautam Budh Nagar superintendent of police (rural) Vineet Jaiswal was quoted by Indian Express as having said that if a man is found repeating the offence, “strict action will be taken”.

The cards will be handed out on suspicion by the state’s ‘anti-Romeo squads’ which Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath had asked to be reactivated earlier this month, reported Times of India.

The decision was arrived at, at a meeting among heads of all ‘anti-Romeo squads’ held at the state superintendent of police’s office at Surajpur. It was headed by Jaiswal, who reportedly carried out a similar red-card exercise at Allahabad when he was deputy superintendent of police there.

Also read: Online Trolling of Indian Women Is Only an Extension of the Everyday Harassment They Face

Police will also distribute feedback forms to women, especially students, of the city in order to identify areas where women feel most vulnerable. A press statement released by Noida police noted that measures will be taken to intensify security in those areas.

‘Anti-Romeo’ squads were first formed within days of Adityanath taking oath as Uttar Pradesh chief minister. In the days that followed, they gathered a degree of notoriety for beating up consenting couples seen together on the streets. Although ostensibly created to check harassment of women by men, the squads’ methods had been more akin to moral policing.

On an average, eight women are raped and 30 abducted every day in Uttar Pradesh, Times of India had reported last year.