Meat shops burnt, UP cops on prowl

Three days after Adityanath Yogi took charge as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the “antiRomeo squads” were back in action in the state, and three shops selling meat and fish in Hathras were set ablaze late Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, the CM directed the police to prepare an action plan for closure of illegal slaughter houses across UP. The closure of illegal abbattoirs and “anti-Romeo squads” were high on the BJP’s election manifesto.

Squads formed by the police were sweeping Lucknow in a bid to “ensure the safety of college-going girls and check eve-teasing”. Since Tuesday, police teams have been on the prowl near colleges, malls, parks and other public places. Reports from the state said

three men were arrested in Lucknow Tuesday. In Meerut, some youths were picked up outside girls’ schools and colleges and questioned. There were also reports that policemen were ordering “sit-ups” after picking up a boy sitting with a group of girls in Jhansi. State health minister Siddharth Nath Singh said orders had been issued “not to harass any innocent”. The CM, who is in charge of the home department, has decided to crack the whip and will act firmly against the “appaling” law and order situation in UP.

Besides bringing back “anti-Romeo squads”, he also plans to prevent cow smuggling and close down all the illegal slaughterhouses. Orders were issued to check the licenses of meat shops, and reports from the state said around nine meat shops were shut down in Lucknow’s Mahanagar and Aliganj areas. With cow vigilantism back, three shops selling meat and fish were set on fire by unidentified persons, triggering panic in Hathras. PTI reported that the arson took place at Manyawar Kanshiram Colony on Tuesday night. The shopowners said all their stock was charred in the fire.

Hathras SP Dilip Kumar Srivastava said: “Unidentified persons set ablaze three shops selling fish and meat. An FIR has been registered against them.” Sub-divisional magistrate (Hathras Sadar) Rakesh Gupta later met the aggrieved shopowners and heard their grievances. Reports further said on Tuesday a slaughterhouse, which was allegedly being run illegally, was sealed by the district authorities in Kamalgadaha locality. Cops in Ghaziabad on Tuesday sealed 10 meat shops and four slaughterhouses allegedly running illegally.