Speaking at a discussion on moral policing and the aftermath of the homestay attack, organised by Journalists' Study Centre and Forum Against Atrocities of Women (FAAW), advocate Arvind Narayan from Alternative Law Forum said that about 112 cases of moral policing had been reported in the region from the time of the Amnesia pub attack in 2009 up till the attack on the homestay in 2012.
He said that there were strong consequences of moral policing, which not only stemmed from hooligans belonging to Hindutva organisations but also from other allied organisations. It is 'politics of hate' that organisations follow in order to divide the society along communal lines, he said, stressing that everyone had the right to liberty, equality and fraternity as inscribed in the constitution of India.
Recounting the infamous attack, television journalist Naveen Soorinje who was booked and arrested by the police in connection to the homestay case, said that on his arrival at the scene prior to the attack, neither did it appear that there was any wrongdoing taking place, nor were the girls who were attacked dressed indecently.
He said that attempts to contact the nearest police station at that time failed, while it came to be known later through phone records that Subhash Padil, who had led the attack, had informed the concerned police inspector of the impending 'raid' beforehand. The attack carried out by a mob of 45 men occurred in matter of minutes, following which the police who arrived at the scene, behaved as though the girls and boys who were accosted and beaten by assailants were at fault. None of the men from the mob were arrested by the police till much later; rather the victimised youngsters were ushered by the police in a manner befitting offenders, he said.
A complainant and one of the victims in the homestay case, Gurudutt Kamath told the gathering that he and his friend Vijay Kumar had faced several threats following the attack a year ago, including a police officer who allegedly told him to “support his side of the story”.
“We came forward with the truth as we do not want others to face the same ordeal. We want change, but the present generation is not ready to accept it. Rather, they try to avoid the situation,” he said, lamenting that none of the female victims were ready to testify due to parental pressure.
During the discussion, activist Mamata S Yajaman of 'Vimochana' Bangalore pointed out that in every case of moral policing, there was failure of police. The police commissioner should have made a report of the entire episode and submitted it to the government which he did not. In majority of the cases, the hooligans have political links and hence often go scot-free, while the police target the victims in cases of moral policing instead of assuring them or lending them support. In the homestay attack, the girls were taken by the police and brought to the station despite the absence of women constables, she said, adding that such fear-inducing police system could be overthrown only if majority of the voters raised their voices against them.
Advocate Dinesh Hegde Ulepady, retired principal Chandrakala Nandavar and others took part in the discussion.
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