02 April,2013 06:41 AM IST | | Saurabh Vaktania
After over a year of legal battle, the Bandra court on Monday finally acquitted a 25-year-old who was charged by the Khar police for indecent behaviour in public. The youth had merely pecked a friend on the cheek to earn the cop's wrath. Kuber Sarup said, "I had done nothing wrong and finally I have won."
Sarup, who owns a production company and is a resident of Andheri, added, "Someone had to step up and I stood tall. It proves that the cops are not right always. Initially I was hesitating to fight the court battle but I got a lot of support from my family. It was a long battle but now I am a happy, free man and I am not indecent."
In February last year, MiD DAY had reported how Sarup was penalised for the act; he holds up the receipt for the fine he paid. File pic
In February last year,u00a0MiD DAY had reported (âPrice of a kiss, goodbye: Rs 1,200 and police harassment') how Sarup had hugged a friend and pecked her on the cheek while saying goodbye to her on Carter Road.
The officer from Khar police station who witnessed the incident arrested him, saying that he had indulged in indecent behaviour in public. They went on to charge him for his "obscenity" and made him cough up a fine. Sarup tried explaining to the cops that he had done nothing indecent but they hauled him to the police station.
Had he not paid the fine, he would have had to spend the whole night behind bars to be produced in court the next day. Said Sarup, "I did not want to spend the night in a lock-up. The next day when I was produced in court the police told me that if I said I was guilty in court, they would let me go. But I had done nothing wrong and, therefore, when the judge asked me I told him I was not guilty."
The proceedings at Bandra court required statements from both Sarup and the police. Yesterday, after over a year, the court acquitted him of all charges. Advocate Mukim Khan said, "The court removed all charges of indecency as the police failed to prove his indecent behaviour."u00a0
