While state government took Anti-Romeo drive to check harassment of members of fairer sex, a group of girls at a residential school in Muzaffarnagar were allegedly threatened and forced to strip by the Principal, following which an inquiry has been ordered into the incident.
According to a complaint filed by the parents of the victims, the students of Kasturba Gandhi Residential School at Digri village were forced to strip by the Principal on Thursday. The Principal allegedly threatened the students of dire
consequences if they disobeyed her command, District Primary Education Officer Chander Kesh Yadav said. An enquiry has been ordered, he said.
“There was no teacher around. We were called downstairs (from the hostel). Madam made us take off our clothes saying she will beat us if we did not. We are kids, what could we doIJ She would have beaten us if we did not obey her,” one of the
students said. The Principal, however, has denied the allegations. “No one asked them to remove clothes. All this is a conspiracy by the staff because they do not want me to stay here. I had been asked to check whether the staff were
performing their duties. I am strict, that is why they hate me,” she said. Meanwhile, 35 out of the total 65 students of the school left after the reports of harassment by the Principal surfaced. Many students have come forward with similar allegation, Yadav said, adding the matter is being probed.
Meamwhile in wake of controversies arising out of on-going anti-romeo drive in the state, director general of police, Javeed Ahmed, on Friday issued an advisory to ensure that anti-Romeo squads do not resort to blackening of the face or “murga” position type punishments in the name of protecting women. The move by the government comes amid outrage over the way the squads have punished loitering men on the streets and a day after the Allahabad High Court directed it to ensure that guidelines were followed by the police teams and action taken
as per the law. There should be no shaving of heads, blackening of faces
or “murga pose” (a stress position used as a corporal punishment where sit-ups are done holding the ears), an official communiqué of the UP police stated while listing out the dos and don’ts. The fresh guidelines were issued after the intervention of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath amid reports of alleged
harassment by anti-Romeo squads.
The special squads of the UP Police were formed after the BJP government assumed office this month, fulfilling one of the pre-poll promises of the party. It may be mentioned that the Allahabad High Court’s lucknow bench of justices
Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Sanjay Harkauli had given its order on a PIl that alleged that police were not following the guidelines during the drive, aimed at checking eveteasing, and it was harassing couples. The chief minister has also directed administrative and police officials in districts to regularly review the steps being taken for women security and inform senior officials on
a regular basis, an state government official said. Stressing that his government was firm on upholding the security and dignity of women, he said a state-wide drive has been launched to free public places of anti-social elements
and check incidents of eve-teasing, indecent behaviour and passing of lewd comments at women and girls. The fresh directives were issued by the Home department to identify those involved in misconduct at schools, colleges,
bus stations, railway stations, malls and markets. The government is also firm on checking unnecessary harassment of girls and boys merely in the name of curbing eve-teasing in public places like coffee shops, markets and
parks. The government has also made it clear that vigilantism of
any sort in this regard will not be tolerated. With visuals on TV suggesting harassment and humiliation of young couples by anti-Romeo squads at some places,
Adityanath asked officials to ensure there was no “unnecessary harassment”.
The chief minister asked the Principal Secretary (Home) to chalk out clear guidelines for anti-Romeo squads and ensure there is no unnecessary harassment of boys and girls moving around or sitting at any place, an official release said.
Anti-Romeo squads, a poll promise of the BJP that pulled off a stunning victory in the recent Assembly polls in UP, drew criticism from certain quarters after visuals of policemen targeting young boys and girls went viral on TV and
in social media. “The idea is to question, check group of boys or boys alone near colleges and other places, and create fear among potential harassers in public places,” said a police officer. However, it was being dubbed as an attempt at moral policing and widely criticised in some quarters as the modus
operandi was being compared to the infamous ‘Operation Majnu’ in 2005, in which boys at crossings and markets were pulled up, and couples in gardens were thrashed by police. The officer sought to clarify that the only job (of the
anti-Romeo squads) was to ensure safety of women and to ensure that eve-teasing does not takes place. “For this we will also take preventive steps like not
permitting miscreants to loiter in public areas where women are known to frequent. I will not say it is moral policing,” he said.
The chief minister, who holds the portfolio of Home department, has also asked for effective steps in cases of acid attacks. Adityanath has termed law and order as the top priority of his government and asked for daily reports from all DMs and SPs on law and order.