64 held in Mumbai for 'indecent behaviour'

Mumbai: The Malwani police has said it conducted a drive in hotels and lodges at Aksa, Madh and Danapani beaches because it had received complaints from locals about prostitution at some hotels. Furthermore, it said that hotels can be checked as they are considered public places.

According to a tabloid report, the Malwani police booked couples occupying hotel rooms for “indecent behaviour at public places”. The police imposed fines on 64 people, including those who had booked rooms in hotels in these areas, and booked them for indecent behaviour in public. Some unmarried girls were made to call up their parents. The police also booked three women under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA).

While some couples have claimed that the police humiliated and manhandled them, the police denied these allegations. Senior police inspector Milind Ketle said, “We have only booked three women, who were found to be involved in the flesh trade, under the PITA. We also booked a few drunkards who were harassing families that came to beaches for outings and 13 couples for inappropriate behaviour at public places. Regarding the couples in the rooms, we only brought them to the station and released them after the inquiry. We did not impose any fine on them or register any case against them.”

Mr Kelte insisted that even hotels come under the definition of ‘public places’ and the police has powers to check them. He said that action was taken only on the basis of the complaints from locals and, accordingly, two police squads carried out checks at hotels. “We have received complaints that there were prostitutes who went there everyday. Locals complained that they felt embarrassed by such activities and also feared for their children and women,” he said.

A woman, who had recently got married, said, “Our friends and us visited Aksa beach and stayed at hotels there. If we were not behaving indecently in public, as we were inside a room, how does it constitute an offence? Some of my colleagues suffered in yesterday’s incident when police took them to the police station. They were about to get married and were spending time with each other in the privacy of their hotel room. But they ended up spending all their time answering the police’s awkward questions.”