India Today exposes how anti-Romeo squads have innocent men rounded up for no crime

The squads, made up of plainclothes and uniformed police officers, were introduced in March to crack down on "Romeos"- a term loosely used for molesters.

While Babuddin promised to slap any case on an innocent in exchange for bribes, Ved offered to trap the

Highlights

1. Investigation discovered a disturbing phenomenon in the very crop of UP police.
2. On which Yogi Adityanath administration has raised anti-Romeo squads.
3. The probe found members of the new contingents out only to harass.
At the most, they were mocked as "moral police" for swooping on parks, forcing youths to do sit-ups or slapping dating couples in full public view.
But an India Today TV investigation has discovered a disturbing phenomenon in the very crop of Uttar Pradesh police on which the Yogi Adityanath administration has raised anti-Romeo squads purportedly for women's safety.
The probe found members of the new contingents out not only to harass but implicate innocents in false cases, ready as they were to resort to blatant thuggery for bribes. Their new role, observed the India Today TV investigation, was a mere cover for abuse of authority.
The squads, made up of plainclothes and uniformed police officers, were introduced in March to crack down on "Romeos" - a term loosely used for molesters - after the BJP government took power in the state.
'HOW TO HAVE AN INNOCENT MAN ROUNDED UP FOR NO CRIME'
In Meerut's Transport Nagar, sub-inspector Onkar Nath Pandey offered tips to the undercover team on how to have an innocent man rounded up for no crime.
Pandey, the local head of an anti-Romeo squad, also promised to plant weapons on him, a fictitious business rival concocted by India Today TV's investigative team. "What I am saying is he should have a companion first (on the street); even if that's a man. Take him into confidence. Let there be a scuffle after drinks. Let that man provoke him (your rival). He'd lose his senses. Then call the police who will pick him up. He'll be prosecuted," Pandey suggested.
"Will he be sent to jail?" asked the reporter, to which the cop claimed, "Definitely, he'll go to jail. We'll frame him in a weapons' case and he'll be imprisoned." He demanded `50,000 for the dirty job.
Sub-inspector Vineet Verma, the head of an anti-Romeo squad at a Bulandshahr police station, asked India Today TV's investigative team to send the target's photo to him on WhatsApp.
NO WRITTEN COMPLAINT TO ACT
He needed no written complaint to act. In the conversation recorded on secret cameras, he was ready to harass, beat up or even torture an innocent. "Nothing in writing (is needed). We'll have him slapped, etc. We'll have it done," Verma said. His counterpart at Agra's Nai Ki Mandi, Ved Prakash, proposed to entangle the fictitious character in an unresolved case of rioting.
"Police were attacked near Haweli Garib Khan. A lot of stone-pelting also happened. A case is registered against 150 people in the rioting," he recalled. "We'll have warrants issued for him from a magistrate court," Prakash said.
The racket was found to be running deep in the national capital region as well. Babuddin, part of a special operations group at Ghaziabad's Loni police station, promised on-demand action.
"There will be a cost involved but there is work to be done by police. We will have to put in many hours in preparing a good case against him. Then, we will be able to pick him up from wherever we want," he said.
PLOT CENTRED AN IMAGINARY MAN
The plot centred on an imaginary man in a consensual relationship with a woman. "For six months in prison, you'll have to give `3 lakh. He will be behind the bars in 36 hours," Babuddin said.
Soon, his team joined in to firm up the nasty plan. They all agreed to pick up the fictitious character from his dating spot, have his call details dug out and take him into custody over cooked-up charges.
After the report aired

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