V-day woes for lovers again

Cops play moral police, issue strict 7-point guideline for Valentine's season; youth consider heading to hills to escape restrictionsu00a0

City cops are all geared up to play the moral police on Valentine's Day. Issuing a seven-point guideline, Rajendra Sonawane, Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), stated, "We are merely enforcing the law, not moral policing. People who flout guidelines will face action under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code andu00a0 Section 144 of the CRPC, 1973."

Bad experiences
"We found it necessary to impose these regulations in the light of certain experiences we have had in the past," Sonawane added.

The guideline will be effective between the midnight of February 3 and 6 pmu00a0 on February 15. Unlike Pune city, the rural police said they are not planning to enforce any special guidelines on Valentine Day apart from applying Sections 36 and 37 of the Bombay Police Act, which ban the assembly of five or more people in one place.

Superintendent of Police, Pune Rural, Pratap Dighavkar, said, "We will keep a sharp eye on the areas around colleges and hostels. We are being cautious."

City Shiv Sena chief Nana Wadekar welcomed the guidelines issued by the Pune police. "We strongly oppose the public display of obscene emotions. We are with the Pune Police on this."

Students disagree
Advocate Ajay Shah, the spokesperson of the National Students Union of India, said the police had no businessu00a0 issuing guidelines for Valentine's Day. "The police's stand is highly condemnable. The police would do better to keep moral goons in check instead of advising or making rules for couples who have every right to celebrate the day in their own modest way,"u00a0 Shah said.