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.

Representational image. Reuters

“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.