Lucknow, Dec. 8: When the going gets hot, have a cup of tea.

That is the formula Etah police have resorted to under fire from their bosses in Lucknow and political parties for the abysmal law and order in the district.

Senior officers interacted with over 200 ?hardened offenders, some of them convicts just returned from jail? at a tea party on the sprawling ground in the Etah policelines yesterday.

The police in Etah, which has a high rate of crimes against women, had been under pressure for the last one year, with officers being frequently transferred.

So to tackle crimes more effectively, they decided to take a peek at the psyche of offenders during a six-hour interface that involved those who had served their jail terms or were out on bail or parole or in police lock-up.

?Our basic aim is to create an informal environment for the offenders to speak their heart and mind out. And this was a successful session,? said Anand Swaroop, senior superintendent of police for the last six months.

Etah, flanked by Mainpuri, Etawah, Farrukhabad and Badaun districts in western Uttar Pradesh, abounds in dacoit gangs and contract killers, and is infamous for its abduction industry. It records 12 to 18 murders every month, around 20 road robberies and five to 12 crimes against women, especially rape.

Police records show over 1,600 historysheeters in the district?s 28 police station areas. Of them, 300 are in jail and over 250 on the run.

Invitations to the tea party were sent to all known offenders but only 274 turned up. Most were facing multiple criminal cases.

?All we planned to understand is their modus operandi, the kind of support they get from the villagers, and how they dispose of their booty and try to manipulate cases during trial,? said S.K. Mishra, an officer of deputy superintendent rank.

As the officers clicked away on laptops, historysheeters recounted their journey into the world of crime. They were asked about their social and educational background, physical and mental ailments, and the reasons that led them astray.

The session ended with the refrain: Would they like to return to normal life, given a chance? Kiri Yadav, believed to be a sharpshooter and facing trial in 12 cases of murder and rape, was prompt with the answer: ?Go back where?? ?Why to your village, as a farmer,? an inspector said.

?I am already there. But I have not been taken back by the villagers. They call me Kiri, the killer.?

Offenders from the backward castes said the very people for whom they had to go to jail now dread and despise them. ?I believe the basic problem that a policeman faces in crime control is lack of understanding of the pattern of such offences and the socio-economic milieu that causes it,? Swaroop said.

Ram Manohar Paswan, a 45-year-old tall, skinny dacoit, did not take kindly to the query why he killed his neighbour on the suspicion that he had an illicit relationship with his wife. ?Yeh izzat ka sawal hai, saab, aur mat puchiye (It?s a question of family honour),? he said.