A Special Operations Team (SOT) from the Rachakonda police detained 11 unmarried couples on Tuesday for allegedly indulging in ‘obscene activities’ in a public park in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
The couples were picked up from the Nandanavanam Park in Narapally and handed over to the Medipally police for public displays of affection.
“For the past 10 days, we were receiving complaints from locals that some couples were coming to the park and indulging in some obscene activities, which was making it a nuisance for the public. That’s why the special team went and picked them up,” K Jaganath Reddy from the Medipally police station told TNM.
The police officer were not willing to elaborate on what the ‘obscene’ activity indulged in by the couples was.
All the couples were above the age of 18, and most of them were reportedly students from colleges near the park.
While the incident seems like an instance of moral policing, the police say that they were looking out for the interests of the public, which was inconvenienced.
However, the youngsters claimed otherwise.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, one of the students said, “Some of us are just friends. The cops were rude and took us to the police station. We do not understand why we girls and boys are not allowed to mingle.”
The police booked the couples under section 70-B of the City Police Act, which deals with ‘public nuisance’ and is considered a petty crime. The punishment for it consists of a small fine.