India: Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum Letter re Moral Policing at Mulki

Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, D.K. Distict
(Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum)
B.H. Bangera Hall, Old Kent Road, Police lane, Mangalore 575001. Ph: 0824 2225652; 9964071782

Mangalore

October 5, 2013

To:
The Police Commissioner
Mangalore

Sub: Moral Policing at Mulki

Sir,
On October 2, another case of moral policing took place, this time at Bappanadu in Mulki close to the Dakshina Kannada-Udupi districts border. The incident was widely reported in next day’s newspapers. Headlines and reports in some papers suggested that the Mulki police thwarted a possible attack by moral police on a group of five youth. This gives the impression that the police seem to have changed their earlier behaviour. But a full reading of the report reveals that it was nothing but a repetition of the usual story wherein the hindutva group/s pounce upon couple/s, take them to the police station, the couple’s parents are called in and after some ‘advice’ they are sent home and the culprits walk free. However this time there was a slight change. The police themselves took the victims to the station.

According to the reports, the car in which the youth were traveling was being followed by members of a hindutva outfit in another vehicle. The Mulki police, upon receiving a tip-off, stopped the car and took the youth into custody. Meanwhile, the hindutva group managed to escape. ‘The Hindu’ (04.10.2013) has reported that the youth were taken to the police station and questioned about their “relationship”. Police sub-inspector Somayya is reported to have told the paper that “The girls and boys have done something wrong. .....the girls had traveled with the three boys, whom they knew only through their mutual friends, and without informing the elders in the family. The students should think of their families and not do as they please.” The five were allowed to go only after the girls’ parents were informed.

The concerned police personnel obviously transgressed his limits by becoming a self-styled moral advisor. The police themselves indulging in ‘moral policing’ is highly condemnable and needs to be put down with a firm hand. Second important thing is though the culprits could have been apprehended quite easily, yet they were allowed to escape. This clearly amounts to dereliction of duty.
The KKSV is highly perturbed by the present incident and notes with great anguish the fact that moral policing remains unabated despite repeated warnings from the Chief Minister and the Home minister of the state.

We demand that

the concerned police personnel be suspended forthwith and be given exemplary punishment after a thorough and proper inquiry.

strict instructions be passed onto all jurisdictional police stations not to harass victims of moral policing; to extend all necessary help to them; and to take stringent action against the culprits.

arrangements be made for imparting special training to all police personnel on the subject of moral policing.


Yours truly,

Suresh Bhat Bakrabail (District President) and other office-bearers.



cc: The Deputy Commissioner
Dakshina Kannada District


==== SEE SUPPORTING NEWS REPORTS BELOW [in plain text and linked PDF] ====

The Hindu
Karnataka
Published: October 4, 2013 14:47 IST | Updated: October 4, 2013 14:47 IST

Mulki police engage in ‘moral policing’
Staff Correspondent

In an apparent case of moral policing by the police, a group of five persons, including two women, travelling together was questioned and warned at the Mulki police station on Wednesday.

The police stopped their car at Bappanadu on the Dakshina Kannada–Udupi border after receiving information that a right-wing Hindu group was trailing them.

Though the police said they stopped the car to ensure that the occupants were not harmed, it ended with the youth being taken to the police station and questioned about their “relationship”.

While the youths work in Mangalore, the two girls are students of a college here. They were headed towards Manipal.

“We ensured there was no violent flare-up, and prevented a situation of violent moral policing,” said Police Sub-inspector Somayya. “The girls and boys have done something wrong…the girls had travelled with the three boys, whom they know only through mutual friends, and without informing the elders in the family. The students should think of their families and not do as they please.”

However, he refused to say whether there was a specific criminal charge against those detained. The five were allowed to go only after the girls’ parents were informed.

Keywords: Moral policing, Mulki police, Dakshina Kannada–Udupi border, Bappanadu

Printable version | Oct 6, 2013 10:26:15 AM | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/mulki-police-engage-in-moral-policing/article5197714.ece

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