At the most, they were mocked as moral police for swooping on parks, forcing youth to do sit-ups or slapping dating couples in full public view. But an India Today 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 in the state.

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 as anti-Romeo police, observed the India Today investigation, was a mere cover for abuse of authority.