Don't engage in moral policing: Mumbai Police Commissioner warns cops

Mumbai: Following an outcry over the arrest of several couples for "indecent behaviour" from hotels and a beach in Mumbai earlier this month, the Mumbai police has issued a circular asking officials to work within a legal framework and not to intrude on people's privacy and freedom.[caption id="attachment_2405394" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria. AFP[/caption]A senior police inspector confirmed the development. "We have received such a circular," he said.The circular, which was issued by Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria on 20 August, says policemen should not criticise or make suggestions as to how citizens should behave and what they should wear.It also says that they do not have any authority to intrude on a citizen's privacy and individual freedom.The officials should also not take any action under Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act before taking the permission of the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police, says the circular.Senior inspectors have been asked to display the circular, which is in Marathi, on notice boards in all police stations.Earlier this month, Mumbai police had rounded up 13 couples and 35 others following raids at hotels and a beach for indecent behaviour in public, provoking a storm in the social media.Consenting adults who had checked into several hotels in Madh Island and Aksa area were in for a shock when they found policemen knocking on the doors of their rooms and rounding them up.PTI