Moral policing at Mumbai hotels: Cops record statements from couples

Police are thoroughly investigating the moral policing episode in which the Malwani police rounded up 40-odd couples from hotel rooms and charged them with indecency in public last week. The same couples were yesterday called in by the police to record their statements.

mid-day broke the story on August 8 (Cops pick up couples from hotel rooms, charge them with ‘indecency in public'), after which Commissioner Rakesh Maria called for an inquiry into the raid. Additional Commissioner of Police (North) Fateh Singh Patil summoned the couples to his Kandivli office.

They were given 15 minutes each to narrate their experience. A Worli-based couple told mid-day that the cops were polite and helpful. "The policemen told us not to get scared and narrate the entire incident without any fear," they said.

"They also enquired about the incident in which a constable had slapped a couple, but as we had left immediately after paying the fine that day, we were not aware of it," the couple added.