THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If marriage puts an end to ‘moral policing’, so be it. Vishnu and Arathy, the lovers who fell victims to ‘moral policing’ last Tuesday, expressed as much on Friday while getting married. Their earlier than expected decision also contained seeds of protest against unreasonable attempts by certain sections of the society to interfere in personal affairs.
Last Tuesday, they were taken into custody and released by the Museum police after allegedly sitting in an ‘indecent’ position on the premises of Kanakakunnu Palace. Interestingly, the couple tied the knuptial knot after setting up a temporary ‘marriage hall’ in front of Nishagandhi auditorium on the Kanakakunnu Palace premises in the presence of their friends.
Vishnu and Arathy later told media they were “forced” to get married due to the ‘moral policing’ prevailing in the society.
“Though we had planned to marry, we never thought it would be so early,” Vishnu said.
“It’s because of the current evil system prevailing in our society. Lovers can’t live in this society anymore until they are married.
This is pathetic.” In the particular incident, two woman police officers attached to the Museum police asked the couple about their whereabouts. This prompted Vishnu to take visuals of the officers and stream it live on Facebook.
In the video, Vishnu asked the policewomen: “What’s wrong if I place my hand on her shoulder? Did you see us kiss? Are you enforcing morality?’’In the three-minute video, a woman officer is heard asking Arathy whether she did not have parents at home.
The girl had described the police action as an infringement on their rights and said they planned to take legal recourse.
The video went viral on social media and the police invited widespread criticism for ‘moral policing’. Vishnu was seen saying it is wrong to consider a man and a woman sitting together as vulgar. They were taken to the police station and their parents summoned. The parents, however, did not want to interfere in their matter and left the station.
The incident took place days after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan instructed the police to take stringent action against ‘moral policing’. State Police Chief Loknath Behera had also condemned the incident and ordered a probe by entrusting the investigation charge to Thiruvananthapuram Range I G Manoj Abraham.