A middle-aged man on Monday fell in the trap of “pretty women” — two lady constables used as baits to arrest eve-teasers — in front of the zoo.

The teaser, identified as Munna, was arrested around 1pm after he passed lewd comments at the lady constables and tried to touch them in front of the first gate of Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park. He even tried to tug at the dress of one of the “pretty women”.

The city police launched the “pretty woman” ploy in October 2011 to arrest chain-snatchers and eve-teasers. But the initiative gradually ran out of steam. Sources said it was revived last week to safeguard women after the gang rape in New Delhi and yielded result on Monday.

Patna city superintendent of police Jayant Kant told The Telegraph: “The two constables of the Women’s police station were stationed in front of the zoo gate. The accused surfaced from somewhere and started passing lewd comments at them. He also tried to pull the dress of one of the constables. The police support team reacted promptly and arrested him. He has been sent to the Women’s police station. His identity and the place of stay are being verified.”

The SP said: “The accused appears to be mentally unstable. The police will get in touch with his family to check his background.”

An officer said: “The ‘pretty women’ ploy was introduced after a series of chain-snatchings in the city last year. Besides zeroing in on the chain-snatchers, its objective was to stop eve-teasing. The ploy has been given a fresh lease of life to pre- vent any kind of crime against women.”

A police officer said the “pretty women” ploy would be used regularly now. Lady constables sporting civil dress would be deployed at certain places as baits to arrest eve-teasers and molesters.

“The spots where the lady constables would be deployed cannot be disclosed because it will would be like alerting the road Romeos,” a deputy superintendent of police told The Telegraph.

Women hailed the move of the city police.

“Eve-teasing is a common affair in the state capital. After the heinous gang rape in New Delhi, the city police seem to have woken up. The revival of the ‘pretty woman’ ploy is a commendable move,” Shruti Shekhar, a student of a private institute, said.

Appreciating the move, some citizens said more police presence was required at the eve-teasing prone areas like Ashok Rajpath, Boring Road, zoo, Patna Junction, shopping complexes and the only mall in the city. Teasers also lurk around schools and colleges. So the security should be tightened at those places also, a few said.

A.K. Thakur, a government employee staying in the Boring Road area, said: “The police presence is something which should be taken care of. A patrol vehicle can be seen at a particular area after at least an hour or so. This has to change.”