New Delhi: Yogi promised it and his cops are now straining at the leash to implement it. The Uttar Pradesh Police have set up anti-Romeo squads in 11 districts apart from ‘hotspots’ like Meerut, Bulandshahr and Moradabad. Yet, amid all the euphoria, a question vexes the IGs and beat constables alike: Just who makes the cut as a Romeo, and more crucially, who all doesn’t?
Yet, that doesn’t stop UP police from bragging about a ‘Romeo Index’ they are setting up in the communally-sensitive Moradabad district. The said index ostensibly will be a database of repeat offenders of the ‘Romeo’ variety.
The larger question for anti-romeo squads still remain how to define a Romeo.Also Read: Why Anti-Romeo Squads have Shakespeare Society Worried
A district magistrate in a western UP district had this to tell News 18 on condition of anonymity. “We have received instructions from the very top to set up anti-Romeo squads. In most districts, they have already started working. But the CM’s order doesn’t define who is a Romeo. It has been left up to individual DMs and SSPs to identify such people. In my district, for example, I have told the police to station cops in civil dress outside schools, colleges and main crossings in the city. We don’t want this to turn into a moral policing expedition so we are not going to go to parks to tell couples off,” he said.
Another fear that officials share is that some cops may use this opportunity to target minorities. “The DGP and Principal Secretary (home) have told us that we should not make any arrests based on religion or caste. That is why I have instructed the police in my district to not deploy personal in community-based areas. This means areas where one community is dominant. We will only carry out this work in public spaces,” the DM said.Also Read: Yogi Gets Cracking, UP Police Set up Anti-Romeo Squads
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