Twitterati slams rounding-up of couples from hotel rooms

A large section of society has already criticised the move and evern rapped up the Mumbai police leading to an inquiry being ordered into the entire incident. However, hotels across the country routinely refuse to rent rooms to unmarried couples. Lion Heart Kejriwal wrote: “Shame on Mumbai police for snooping, spying and raiding consenting adults making love not war in private”. “Who gave them right to do so?” asked by the arrested couples.

The police have said they were acting on complaints by locals in the area who complained of “public indecency”, prostitution and drunk people creating a ruckus at the hotels. “I will take action against them if something like that emerges”, he said. People who were caught were made to call their parents and also charged Rs. On 6 of August, the police arrested around 40 couples from the confinement of hotel rooms where they were with their consent and arrested them for “public indecency”.

“The 61 people were let off by taking a deposit of Rs 1,200 from each with an undertaking that they will appear before the local magistrate when required”, said Milind Khetle, senior inspector of Malwani police station.

According to a report revealed in a every day, the episode left some of these “caught” traumatized.

One 19-year-old woman said that she is contemplating suicide because of the humiliation she endured.

The 21-year-old told Mid-Day:”I am not a prostitute”. How can it be “public indecency” if they were in hotel rooms? 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. 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. “But, when I tried to tell a female constable all of this, she slapped me”. “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”.

The arrests were made after raids were carried out by a team of police officials led by Deputy Commissioner (Zone XI) Vikram Deshpande at several lodges, resorts, two-star hotels and on the beaches, police said.

Yet again, the Mumbai Police have assumed that their responsibilities include the morality policing of consenting adults – this time in private spaces that they had paid for.