'Anti-Romeo Squad' in Action: UP Cops Nab 38,000 Men from Sensitive Areas for Safety of Women

In yet another drive to ensure women safety and security, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police has nabbed more than 38,000 men, who they called “roadside Romeos”, from sensitive areas across the state.

Launched on the directions of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, awareness workshops were also conducted in order to make women aware of the ongoing welfare schemes, as part of the 17-day-long drive, termed ‘Anti-Romeo’.

The government spokesperson said the drive, which started on July 21, was part of Mission Shakti – an initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development aimed at strengthening interventions for women safety, security and empowerment. This was the second phase of the drive carried out by the UP Police in the state.

“In the drive, around 38,000 roadside Romeos/anti-social elements were nabbed from the sensitive/hot spots and the areas infamous for eve teasing, by the cops in plain clothes. Of the total, 33,000 people were counseled, strictly warned and were allowed to go, whereas legal action was initiated against 5500 people and a fine was imposed on 511 people,” the government press release stated.

As per the data released by the state government earlier, the anti-Romeo squads got 4,231 cases lodged and 5,585 people booked in the first 270 days (between April 2, 2022 and December 28, 2022) of Yogi Adityanath’s second term. This was roughly three times more compared to the first 268 days of the Yogi government’s first term. Then, the anti-Romeo squads had got 1,706 cases lodged and 3,003 people booked between March 22, 2017 and December 15, 2017.

“Our team visited around 83,373 villages in order to make the women aware about the various government programmes. Also, we conducted chaupals in around 78,474 villages in which around 23 lakh women and more than 15 lakh men participated. Out team has also linked them with the WhatsApp group in order to keep them informed of about the government programmes in order to make them self-reliant,” stated Vijay Kumar, acting Director General of Police (DGP), UP, in the press release.

Besides, he said during the drive, cops also visited schools and made the children aware about the good touch and bad touch. Also, the police organised seminars and small awareness campaigns in schools to make the students aware of the good touch and bad touch.