Cops not part of ‘anti-romeo squad: Woman detained in absence of female officer, three Ghaziabad police suspended

He added, “The three personnel who were suspended are not part of any Anti-Romeo Squad.” The three policemen include head constable Mehtab and constables Dilip Kumar and Pankaj Kumar. A video, showing the suspended policemen questioning the three persons surfaced on Friday, following which Ghaziabad police took action on the matter. The video shows the cops shouting at the men and the woman, taking them to a black Innova — a UP100 PCR van — and making them sit in the car.

“Police officers and constables are instructed time and again to ensure that a woman police constable is present when any woman is detained. These directives were not followed in this case and hence, they were suspended,” a senior officer said.

Incidentally, the Circle Officer of the area and the Station House Officer of Kotwali police station were suspended on Monday after raids were conducted in two hotels and 90 people arrested for engaging in “immoral activities”.

According to the police, dereliction of duty was the reason behind their suspension.

Earlier this week, directives from the police headquarters in Lucknow had been issued to each district asking them to form “Anti-Romeo Squads”, in order to make public spaces such as parks, malls and markets safe for women.

The order had asked police to ensure that these spaces be made free of “anti-social elements”, and that these squads comprise women constables in plainclothes. The directive had raised concerns about these squads indulging in moral policing.

Following the controversy, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had asked officials to set clear guidelines for these squads to prevent unnecessary harassment.