Police have arrested 449 people since Saturday during a drive against those harassing women. The four-day drive was aimed at not only containing the increasing incidents of sexual offences, but also instilling confidence among women.

Alok Kumar, Additional Commissioner (Law and Order), told The Hindu that police personnel in mufti had been deployed across the city. “The offenders are booked under the Karnataka Police Act, 1963,” he said, and added that the intelligence wing of the jurisdictional police had also been instructed to identify vulnerable points.

An official said the accused would be detained in the jurisdictional police station and will have to appear before the court and pay fine. Police personnel have been instructed to take down the details of the arrested and prepare a database. Those arrested for the second time would be booked under compoundable offence for which there was no bail, the official said. Police Commissioner M.N. Reddi has directed police to keep an eye on anti-social elements to keep their activities under check.