Plainclothes police officers arrested 100, that’s right, 100, street harassers in Kolkata, India, during a two day time period in late February. All 100 men were caught making lewd comments to women in public places.

Via The Times of India:

“While they were booked under relatively minor sections and are out on bail, police believe this would be a jolt enough to reign in molesters on the prowl.

Fifty-year-old Sadhan Ghosh (name changed), an employee of a private firm at Dalhousie, was waiting near a cinema at Esplanade on Friday afternoon. A woman in her mid-thirties was standing a few yards away from Ghosh, leaning on a pillar. Ghosh, who was waiting for his friend, allegedly made some lewd gestures at her, trying to grab her attention.

Unknown to Ghosh, the woman was actually a constable of Kolkata Police’s detective department. Soon, following a signal made by her, an officer grabbed Ghosh and took him to the local police station. Even before he could realize it, Ghosh was booked for disorderly conduct.

Like Ghosh, several middle-aged men were caught by the cops in plainclothes for disturbing women on city roads….

Police sources confirmed that more than 20 teams of police in plainclothes have been stationed at Esplanade, Metro stations, Victoria Memorial, Alipore Zoo and in front of some marketplaces and shopping hubs in south Kolkata.”

I wonder if the mass arrests will work? Will there be fewer harassers (at least for a time)?

What a commotion it would cause if police arrested 100 street harassers in a city in the United States!