Men can be booked for staring at women for over 14 seconds: Kerala top cop

Kochi: Kerala excise commissioner Rishiraj Singh on Sunday raised the hackles of politicians by claiming that a case can be filed against a man who continually stares at a woman for more than 14 seconds.

According to reports, Singh made the statement while addressing a gathering of students at a public event held in Kochi.

"A case can be charged against a man who annoyingly stares continually at a woman for 14 seconds. But not a single such case has been registered so far in Kerala," Singh was quoted as saying.

The government immediately hit out at Singh for his remarks. Kerala Sports Minister EP Jayarajan said the statement was in bad taste, and said he would bring the matter to the notice of the Excise Minister.

Jayarajan claimed that the commissioner was interfering in the affairs of a department he is not part of, and added that he was trying to quote a law which did not exist.

Reports stated that Jayarajan also refuted the commissioner’s statement that crimes against women are on the rise in Kerala.

Rishiraj Singh has in the past served as the state's transport commissioner and garnered the reputation of being a tough cop. But he has run afoul of politicians earlier too, said reports.

In 2015, a huge controversy erupted after he refused to salute then state home minister Ramesh Chennithala at a public event. Taking note of his behaviour, the home ministry had also asked for an explanation for his conduct.

A few days ago, Singh refused to attend a function organised by the excise department, taking objection to the fact that the officers who came to invite him were not in their uniforms, despite being on duty.