'Anti-Romeo squads' get busy in Uttar Pradesh

Adityanath (left), the new chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, with Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah (in white) in New Delhi last week. PHOTO: EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh's new Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the deployment of hundreds of police squads targeting young men loitering outside women's colleges, schools and public spaces in a measure meant to protect women from sexual harassment.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, the state had the highest number of crimes against women in 2015 with 35,527 cases, including 3,025 rape cases.