Kolkata moral policing incident resulted in state-wide protests, with many strongly condemning the act and others taking to the streets with placards that read — ‘Free hugs’. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)
Three women have accused two men of molesting them during a protest outside Dum Dum Metro station, days after a couple were beaten up in the Metro for “standing close to each other”. “It was a peaceful protest, when a man in his mid-forties suddenly came and started using abusive words. He was justifying those who had thrashed the couple in Dum Dum metro station a few days ago. He kept using slangs for the protesters. Two of our friends tried to make him understand, but he kept using slangs against them. Suddenly, the matter got worse and a man hit them. When we tried to intervene, he hit us with his elbow. During the scuffle, a few of the girls were pushed and touched inappropriately. The worst part was he was escorted by security personnel and left the spot. When we started confronting police, they lathicharged us,” said one of the women.
When asked about the incident, a Metro official said, “Nothing happened inside metro station, at least not under our jurisdiction.” The women jointly lodged a complaint at Sinthi police station. “Identify the perpetrators and bring them under the court of law. We have already registered a complaint… It is sad that always the protestors are victimised. I highly condemn the incident,” said Anurag Maitrayee, who was part of the protest.
Police sources confirmed that a complaint was submitted. “It was a fight between two groups — the ones who were protesting and the ones who were objecting to the protest. We have received a complaint, we are looking into it,” said a police officer.