Youngsters allege harassment in the name of eve-teasing

Thiruvananthapuram: ‘Freakenz’  (punks) of the city are aggrieved  because the policemen fiddle with their liberty to wear tight- fitting jeans and sport long hairstyles. Suni of Kanjiramkulam,  a post-graduate student who specialises in performance art,  had a harrowing time  because he sports a sports fancy beard and  funky hair style.  He was  picked up by the cantonment police earlier this week for talking to his girl friends.

“I got out of the university library after a thesis preparation and was walking when I bumped onto the girl friends. While I was talking to them,  a police SUV stopped before us and I was asked to get in without being given a reason. Then they picked up another guy in front of Saphalyam complex.  A third one who was dressed funkily was caught from Palayam. One of them was let off because he started speaking in Hindi which the cops did not understand,” said Suni,  who is popular in city’s theatre circles. After being made to sit in the police station for over an hour,  Suni’s friends came and convinced the police to release him.

According to  many youngsters, the police have an unwritten rule that prevent teenage ‘freakenz’ with performance bikes from halting near any school.

M. Abhilash, 24, says, “a mobile court fined me Rs 200  for speeding but the catch is that I have to go to the local police station and pay Rs 2 for the next100 days. This is because I was previously booked around 12 times by the local police for owning an Austrian-made sports bike. I wear a fancy graffiti helmet that attracts cops who each time books me for speeding. I am banned  from going anywhere near schools and so is it with many of my friends,” he says. 

Cantonment Assistant Commissioner V. Sureshkumar says   it is normal for them to take a suspicious person into custody. “Coincidentally, an anti-eve-teasing drive was happening. Suni’s looks added to the suspicion and hence he was taken for interrogation. Many young eve- teasers hover around schools; so we are a bit cautious of such people,” he  said.