In a move that could shock many, the district magistrate in Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh has reportedly ordered the police to set up "Majnu pinjaras" (Majnu cages) where those accused of harassing women will be lodged in.
According to a report in The Times of India, these cages will then be kept in public places so that the accused can be shamed. Such cages are likely to be put near girls’s schools and colleges, from where maximum number of complaints of harassment is reported.
There will also be cops deployed in mufti to throw those found to be harassing women in the pinjaras.
DM Nikhil Chand Shukla told TOI that though he has asked officers to catch the harassers, he did not know anything about the cages.
"I asked the officers to catch the 'Majnus' red-handed. I don't know about the cage part though. That may be illegal to do so. Of course, eve-teasers will be exposed to the public. Just today and yesterday, I went on rounds of several colleges, accompanied by the SSP, KB Singh, and asked all the sub-divisional magistrates to go on random checks, along with respective circle officers, of the girls' schools and colleges in their respective areas of jurisdiction. I also asked them to be alert around haats (village marts) and markets as women often face harassment at these places. Besides, we will strictly entertain all complaints received on the helpline number 1090."
Of late, the Muzaffarnagar administration has had to deal with a number of cases of harassment against women, with the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots also having been triggered by an incident of harassment, adds the report.