Raid, shame, slap adults for wanting privacy: Mumbai cops round up 40 couples from hotels
If Mumbai's cops would have their way, consenting
unmarried adults should not be allowed to have sex or enjoy privacy,
especially in hotels. On Friday, the Malwani police from Mumbai rounded up 40
couples from hotel rooms in Madh Island and Aksa areas and booked them for
public indecency. Their crime? They were young and had checked into various
hotels, according to a Mid-Day report.
The cops decided to conduct a raid on several lodges and
two-star hotels by knocking on doors, arresting couples and taking them to the
police station where they were humiliated in public behind closed doors, for
over five hours. Just last month, several officers of the Malwani
police were suspended for allowing a spurious liquor racket to flourish in
their jurisdiction, which led to the death of more than 100 people. But rather
than targeting the right people, it appears that the cops have taken on
moral policing.
The report mentions that several of those picked up were
college students who were rounded up to the local police station and asked to
call their parents. While some were fined Rs 1200 for “indecent behavior in
public”, while some were roughed up and even slapped by the cops
for refusing
to pay the fine.
“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 the newspaper. “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,” she told the newspaper. Soon after the report came out, social media was up in arms
and Mumbai police was trending on Twitter.
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