UP: Anti-Romeo Squads made over 11,000 arrests in three years

LUCKNOW: The Anti-Romeo Squads formed to check crime against women in Uttar Pradesh have arrested as many as 11,222 eve-teasers and stalkers in the last three years.
Senior police officers said that the government’s zero tolerance policy against crime and of crime against women has led to a drastic drop in crime against women in 2020.

The officers also attributed the drop in crime rate against women on effective action taken by Anti-Romeo Squads, making public places safer for women. More technical advancements are being made for making these squads more effective, senior officials told TOI.
The purpose is to not only prevent eve-teasing and harassment, but also to keep a check on crimes like chain, mobile and purse snatching in public places. The data of three years of Anti-Romeo Squads accessed by TOI reveals that since the Yogi government came to power, as many as 7,134 FIRs were registered by the squad in which 11,222 persons were arrested from across the state, while 34,26,323 others were issued a warning before being let off by cops. It also shows that maximum FIRs (1,593) were registered in the Gorakhpur police zone. On the other hand, 18,15,896 places were checked in Meerut police zone, which is highest by any Anti-Romeo Squad in the state.
ADG (law and order) Prashant Kumar told TOI that the effectiveness of Anti-Romeo Squad could be gauged from the fact that its activeness has led to a drastic decrease in crime against women.
“Among categories of crime against women, there has been a decrease of 28% in rape cases, 36% in kidnapping for marriage and about 7% in dowry deaths,” the officer said. He said that the overall objective of Anti-Romeo Squads is also to train girls and women by making them self-sufficient and reliant in not only reporting crime against themselves but also acting against it.