UP Police claims anti-Romeo squads a 'huge success', says 538 cases reported since March

Representative Image. PTI[/caption]An official statement said that in a little more than two months, over 3.38 lakh people have been warned to behave and not to repeat "mistakes" like eve-teasing (molestation), passing lewd comments and engaging in obscene acts in public places.A total of 538 cases were filed and legal action has been initiated against 1,264 people, an official said. These actions, he further stated, were taken against people at malls, markets, outside schools, colleges and educational institutions, bus and railway stations.About 7.42 lakh people were questioned. Anti-Romeo squads, a poll promise of the BJP that secured a remarkable victory in the Uttar Pradesh election, had earlier drew criticism from certain quarters, with visuals of policemen targeting young boys and girls going viral on TV and on social media.The state government, the official told IANS, has, however cautioned the police and the anti-Romeo squads not to harass innocent people or take penal action like shaving off heads and blackening faces.