KASARAGOD: In an apparent case of moral policing, Kasaragod police booked 10 workers of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the trade union of the RSS, for illegally detaining and intimidating a young pair because they were of the opposite sex and belonged to different religions.
They were charged with Section 153 of the IPC for creating provocation that could have lead to clashes and riots, said Kasaragod Town station house officer P Ajith Kumar. Of the 10 accused, five persons were arrested and released on bail, he said.
They were identified as Prashanth (26) of Vidyanagar, Pradeep (37), and Sasidharan (37) of JP Nagar in Anangoor, Vinod Kumar (40) of Nellikkamoola, and Nagesh (33) of Devi Nagar, all in Kasaragod town. All of them were members of the BMS, said the officer.
If convicted, they may face a jail term of up to six months or maybe fine or maybe punished with both.
According to the police, a 19-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl, both belonging to different religions, from Kundamkuzhy in Bedadka panchayat came to Kasaragod town to watch a movie. But the theatre was houseful and they were walking back to the bus stand when a group of men accosted them at KPR Rao Road. "They threatened the young couple and tried to assault the young man," said the officer.
A passerby called the police and the officers from the Town Station reached the spot and rescued the twosome.
Police took the teenage friends to the station and enquired about the incident. "They are family friends. Their fathers went to school together and were in the town with the knowledge of the family," said the officer and added that all of these facts were inconsequential to the case.
The young ones, however, refused to press charges against the men who illegally detained and threatened them. "But we decided to register a suo moto case against them considering that such incidents could vitiate the peace and harmony in the town," said inspector Ajith Kumar.