Mumbai: Couples picked up from hotel rooms, charged with ‘public indecency’

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Mumbai (Mid-day): The Malwani police, several of whose officers were suspended for allowing a spurious liquor racket to flourish in their jurisdiction, which led to the deaths of more than 100 people in the hooch tragedy last month, seem to have declared war on an easy target: sex.

Consenting adults who had checked into various hotels in the Madh Island and Aksa area to get some privacy were shocked to find the police knocking on the doors of their rooms on Thursday. More than 40 couples were rounded up and taken to the police station, where they were insulted and some of them, especially college students, were made to call their parents.

They were then charged with ‘indecent behaviour in public’, even though they were in private hotel rooms when they were ‘caught’, and fined Rs 1,200 before being let off nearly five hours later.

Traumatised by the incident, a 19-year-old girl told mid-day that she is contemplating committing suicide because of the stigma and because her parents aren’t talking to her anymore. Another 21-year-old girl, who had gone to a hotel with her fiancé, whom she is supposed to marry next month, says she was slapped by a female constable for daring to protest against the action.

Raid
According to officials, a team from the Malwani police, under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner (Zone XI) Vikram Deshpande, conducted the raid around 3 pm on Thursday in several lodges, resorts and two-star hotels in the vicinity of Madh Island and Aksa.

They said officials knocked on the doors of rooms and rounded up nearly 40 couples and took them to the police station. A youngster (name withheld) caught in the raid said, “The police first insulted all of us in front of all the officers and the other couples and then forced us to call our parents and insulted and disgraced us in front of them. They also made the parents feel guilty as if their children had committed some heinous crime.” He added that they were taken to the police station around 5 pm and many of them were allowed to go only by 10 pm.

Suicidal

“I am literally contemplating ending my life because of the trauma and the stigma from the raid. I haven’t been able to step out of the house and my parents have also not spoken a single word to me since this morning,” a 19-year-old girl told mid-day yesterday.

Another 21-year-old woman was slapped by a female police constable when she refused to pay the fine. “I am not a prostitute. I am an adult who was out with my fiancé, who I am supposed to marry next month, to find some privacy. I had entered my name in the hotel register with my identity proof and also handed over the relevant documents when asked by the cops. But, when I tried to tell a female constable all of this, she slapped me,” said the girl.

“Do we have freedom as citizens of India? How can you fine and demean us and intrude into our privacy. If you want to take legal action, fine the hotels or lodges if any of them allow immoral activities like prostitution to go on in their premises. Making love to the person of my choice in a private room doesn’t amount to indecent behaviour in public. You can’t just harass us because a DCP orders a raid,” she added.

Officialspeak

When contacted, DCP Vikram Deshpande asked mid-day to call the police in-charge of Malwani Police station and hung up. Senior Inspector Milind Khetale confirmed the raid and said that the couples were fined under Section 110 (Indecent behaviour in public) of the Bombay Police Act and three cases were also registered under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act.


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11 Comments

  1. Dear readers,

    This youngsters looking for privacy overwhelmingly voted RSS political wing BJP to power with big hopes and modern India copying the west.Now just more than year in office by PM Modi and his state cronies acting to implement Taliban rule every they step.

    Earlier they reverse the porn ban due to young public outcry. This Sabka saath sabka vikas government will only act where there is political interest and vote bank. The BJP can reverse its stand citing freedom of expression but at the same time the state is infringing on the freedom of communities to consume food of their choice.

    As per the BJP claims on beef eating can enrage anger and challenge the modesty.But the party seems relaxed to the rule when its own Lawmakers caught porn watching in the middle of session.

    How does PM Modi’s government will assure the women of India ‘rape don’t occur in Bharat but in India’ ?

    By lifting the ban on porn what is the message it want to give to the women empowerment?

    How does safety of women is ensured if porn can be avilable to any age limit?

    Jai Hind

  2. It’s hilarious to see two clueless characters, AS mathew and Sharia Shaikh, blaming this all Sri Modiji. Didn’t we have Karnataka police raiding hotels for ‘indecent’ dances ? By the way, I would like to know if Sharia Shaikh and Mathews support watching Porn and premarital sex with consenting adults (same or opposite sex)? LOL

    For the record, I fully support adults doing whatever they want in their privacy with other consenting adults. State has no business in our personal life. As a libertarian, I cringe every time I read about police raids on what they call ‘indecent’ behavior!!! My views are very clear, consistent and honest unlike other partisan hacks and religious bigots on this forum.

    • Original Duplicate claims, “As a libertarian, I cringe every time I read about police raids on what they call ‘indecent’ behavior!!! My views are very clear, consistent and honest unlike other partisan hacks and religious bigots on this forum.”

      But, his guilty feeling prompts him to conclude his post by a self certification, “My views are very clear, consistent and honest”.

      Yes, his libertarianism ends where Hindu Moral Policing begins!

      • Where did my libertarian views end when I have clearly opposed any attempt by state to control our actions in our own privacy? Didn’t you read my post above? Or, did the madrasa teacher force you to respond even before you could finish reading my post? smiles…

        • Where did my libertarian views end when I have clearly opposed any attempt by state to control our actions in our own privacy? – Rampa to Mr. Shaikh

          Sigh! I ONLY wish your GoalaMaalaKara had the SAME “libertarian” views when he expressed his bigoted and megalomaniac views. 🙁

          Sigh again! Our Rampa – the ONLY next best thing to happen to — AFTER sliced bread! If ONLY we had more Rampas around! 🙁 🙁

          • Joker praveena pinto has run out of his pills. LOL No wonder he thinks he knows enough about libertarian views when he didn’t know about murudeshwara!! LOL

        • Original R.Pai – I have clearly opposed any attempt by state to control our actions in our own privacy?

          When I registered my exception to Original R.Pai not finding fault with “Hindu Moral Policing”, he says that he “opposed any attempt by state”! Paimaam I did not say “Hindu State”, I said “Hindu Policing!”

          ಊಟವಾಯಿತೋ ಎಂದು ಕೇಳಿದಾಗ ಮುಂಡಾಸು ಮೂವತ್ತು ಮೊಳ ಎಂದಂತೆ ಆಯಿತಲ್ಲಾ, ಪೈಮಾಂಮ್ !

    • It’s hilarious to see two clueless characters.. Rampa

      it is EVEN more hilarious to read our Original cartoon play the role of Khap Panchayat day in & amd; day out – on EVERY topic under the sun! But then, I don’t want to change our Rampa! Who will keep me entertained ESPECIALLY after I have sold off all my entertainment systems?

      God bless you ya Rampa. And hey, please let us know when the outpost next to yours sells off their TV’s and Radios.

  3. Original R. Pai, since you are a deity worshipper of Modiji, everything you read is hitting on your brain like ‘ ” anti-Modi” or BJP. When some people are over immersed in certain psychology or religion or hero worship, they will be turning totally clueless as you have indicated. Indeed, you are speaking for yourself as clueless.

    I am a very strong conservative in my ethical view point in life. The Western nations were terribly faced with a moral crisis in which, pornography and the rest have played key roles in the total deterioration of the society; so I am against that.

    If the police happened to see public indecency in an open area like beaches or parks, they must be arrested for public indecency. But, if the police is taking the rule of law to enter the hotels and trying to catch everybody inside, and demanding their proof as married couples, even the married couples don’t have much proof in India now. The police won’t dare to enter into a 5 or 4 star or even 3 star hotels to enforce their own invented indecency law. Why? The police may lose their uniform or be trapped in an indecency chamber.

    This action undertaken by the Mumbai police or in any other city in India is total insanity. How the police is dealing with the red light districts like karmarthipura in Mumbai? If some social and religious organizations are trying to rescue those totally helpless women being engaged in the business of prostitution, those kind-hearted people are harassed for kickbacks by the morally elevated police force.
    What kind of decency of the police is that?

    The ethical and corruption-free police found a new avenue to get some easy money through harassing and slapping on the defenseless people.

  4. Mr. A.S. Mathew,

    One has to realize that most cops in Mumbai police force hail mostly from vilages and small towns of Maharashtra and they have joined the force because it is an easy way to make money by forcing people to give or acceptig bribes. They have a blinkered outlook and a narrow mind and many of them do not know the progress that has taken place. Take it from me that in India, most politicians and public servants are corrupt and they do not have any shame or qualms. They intentionally do all sorts of wrong things and go to houses-of-worship and pay for custom-made poojas, masses, other rituals (depending on their religion) for washing their sins and continue with their nefarious activities.

    The police acted very rashly without doing their homework and basing their raids on sound intelligence. Whatever the consenting couples have done has been in the four walls. These couples should have filed court cases against the police and seek damages.

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