Cops in Mumbai continue to harass couples on the streets for no reason

Just six months ago midday had exposed how the police had dragged young couples out of their hotel rooms in Madh Island and charged them with obscenity in public placesThe resulting public outrage over Mumbai Policersquos moral policing forced the then Commissioner of Police Rakesh Maria to acknowledge that his men had erred and issue a list of dos and donrsquots for them Six months after they were explicitly told to stop harassing couples on the streets this midday investigation shows nothing has changed on the groundAlso readRogue Mumbai cops in the dock for harassing couples after midday stingHerersquos how it went down Our reporters parked their cars in isolated spots and were chatting In each case it didnrsquot take long for patrolmen to come over and harass them It always began with ldquoWhat are you doing hererdquo and ldquoDo you know it is unsaferdquo It didnrsquot take long for them to get to the point In every single instance it ended with ldquoYoursquoll have to come to the police station and pay Rs 1200rdquo obscenity in public placesWhile this was the indirect bait so that the couple would pay its way out of trouble there were also instances when policemen shamelessly demanded money up frontAnd if you stand your ground in the sure knowledge that you have not done anything wrong out comes the ultimate Brahmastra mdash ldquoChalo letrsquos call your parentsrdquoWe caught five policemen redhanded on tape extorting money from our reporters posing as young couples We are not publishing one instance as the footage did not get taped A couple of other tapes are not exceptionally clear since the recordings were done at spots that had minimal lighting But what the policemen were up to is quite evident in the tapesThe most revealing aspect of our test drive around the city was that all the four instances happened before midnight We did the drive between 10 pm to midnight so that the cops wouldnrsquot even have the fig leaf of an argument that it was not safe for a woman to be out so late Why even that should be an argument we do not know but thatrsquos one of the first things they say if they spot a couple late night The footages show the policemen violating every single point in the department circular on moral policing In one case the constables cited the sensational rapemurder of Hyderabad techie Esther Anuhya as a preamble to extort moneyOn another occasion a constable started asking pointed uncomfortable questions to the woman reporter The worst case was the one where despite several reminders to them that they are not supposed to do that the policemen repeatedly tried to force the woman to go to the police stationConstable Sachin RanjaneAttached to Kalachowkie police stationSpot Tanaji Malusare Road Kalachowkie Date January 5 2016 Time 848 pmReporters Sagar and Anju parked their car at a secluded spot at Tanaji Malusare Road Kalachowkie around 830 pm 20 minutes later a constable later identified as Sachin Ranjane approached the reporters in civil clothes Without giving any intimation Ranjane opened the door of the car probably expecting to catch the couple in a compromising position so that it would get easier for him to extort money On spotting the reporters he asked Sagar to step down from the vehicle for police inquiryRanjane Where do you stay Sagar MulundRanjane Take the car to the police station Show me your licence and car papers first Sagar Sir everything all the papers is in placeAfter going through the papers to pressurise the couple the constable shoots some questions at Anju asking her name and other details Ranjane Where do you stay Anju Tardeo Ranjane Pointing to the residential locality around People stay here and you are sitting here Sagar We were about to leave Besides we were just sitting here nothing else Ranjane Where do you work Sagar I work for a private companyRanjane Take your car and the car papers and come to the police station with me Call your parents as well as herrsquos You will have to pay fine of Rs 1200 each that means Rs 2400Sagar Sir please let us go we were just sitting here Ranjane What is there to understand pay the fine of Rs 2400 and you can go Sagar Sir please understandThe constable gets a call from the police station and stated he will be reaching the police station shortly The reporters resist from going to the police station and plead that their parents should not be called Ranjane Come to the police stationSagar Sir please understand Ranjane Come to the police station and pay the fine of Rs 2400 and go Sagar Sir please let us go Ranjane Donrsquot do anything here I am trying to make you understand Call yours as well as her parents to the police station pay the fine of R2400 and leave Sagar Sir why are you involving our parents in thisSagar removes Rs 300 from his wallet to hand it over to the constable Ranjane Refuses to take the money Donrsquot give me Rs 100 or Rs 200 Take all the papers and come to the police station Sagar Sir every paper is in place please let us go sir and hands him some amount Ranjane Donrsquot give me this little amount I can reduce the amount and charge you just Rs 1200 If you can give it to me do it as soon as possibleSagar Sir I donrsquot have that much money sir please cooperate Ranjane OK then I am calling the patrolling van to take you to the police station Sagar Sir please donrsquot call the van please sort it here Ranjane So pay Rs 1200 and leave I have cooperated enough as ideally its Rs 2400 and you have to pay Rs 1200 Sagar Sir please understand I am giving you all the money I have in my wallet and tried to give Rs 500 to him But even this was not enough for the constable and he refuses to accept this Ranjane again fires some questions towards Anju to put pressure on Sagar Ranjane Take money from her Referring to Anju and give me Rs 1200 Sagar Sir please do not involve her in this Ranjane Why not Even she has come with you Referring to Anju Where does she stay Sagar TardeoRanjane Call her parents she stays close by They can easily come and pay the fine Sagar Sir why are you involving parents in this Ranjane You will have to pay at least Rs 1200 as fine or I am calling the police van Sagar Sir please do not call the van I am giving you the money Ranjane We are getting call after call Take the car to the police station Pretending to talk with someone over the phone Ranjane calls someone and asks for the police van in five minutesRanjane You stay in Dombivli Where do you staySagar MulundRanjane Why have you come so far Sagar We left for a long drive We came and sat here after that Realising that Ranjane would not settle for less than Rs 1000 Sagar removes the money and gives it to himRanjane After pocketing the cash Leave this place immediately before our police van comes How much is this Sagar Sir please cooperate Ranjane No Rs 2400 is the fine and I am asking for Rs 1200 Tell me if you can pay otherwise come to the police station Whatever you want to decide do it fast Sagar Sir please take Rs 1000 and leave us Ranjane No This is too less Sagar Sir I have given you everything I had in my wallet please let us go Ranjane Leave immediately Reporters leave the spotConstable Vilas GojreAttached to Vikhroli police stationSpot Eastern Express Highway stretch between Kanjur Marg and Mulund Date Jan 6 2016 Time 1051 pmThis time we chose to park at a crowded place that had maximum flow of traffic which is frequented by the cops on patrolling duty Sagar and Sailee parked the car on the Eastern Express Highway stretch between Mulund and Kanjur Marg station As expected in less than 30 minutes two constables arrived at the spot in a patrolling vanOne of the constables was identified as Vilas Gojre Gojre Come out of the car and show me your licence Sagar gets out of the car and gives him the licenceGojre What is the registration number of the car Sagar Gojre What is your name and where do you stay Sagar Sagar Rajput And I stay in Mulund Gojre What is the name of the girl Sagar Sir let it be we were just sitting in the car Gojre Is this the time to sit here Sagar Sir please let us go Gojre Just tell me her name and give me your mobile number Sagar Sir please let us go Gojre Tell me the name of the girl and give me your mobile numberSagar pleads to the constable to leave him simultaneously his accomplice in the car number MH01AN1418 tells him to shut upGojre Give me your cell numberSagar Gojre Now tell me the name of the girl Sagar Sir please leave us Gojre You know Esther Anuhya She was burnt and killed very close to this spot Sagar Sir please let us go Gojre Someone may hit you take her pointing towards Sailee and rape her Sagar Sorry sir Gojre You donrsquot read newspapers A South Indian girl who had come to LTT and she was killed here Sagar Sir let me go sir Gojre Give me your address and her name Sagar Sir let us go sirSagar fishes out Rs 300 from his wallet and tries to hand the money to GojreGojre What are you giving me Sagar Sir how much do I pay you Gojre Rs 1250 is the fineAnother constable who had accompanied Gojre Donrsquot give us anything come to the police station along with us We will see there Sagar Which police station sir Gojre Vikhroli Sagar Please donrsquot take us to the police station Gojre We will take you to the police station and our officers will interrogate youSagar Please let us go sir Gojre Then pay Rs 1250 now Sagar I donrsquot have this much money sir Please take Rs 500 and let us go I donrsquot have more money Gojre Take some money from the girl Sagar No sir it would affect my impression Gojre Take money from her and tell her that you will repay Sagar Sir no Gojre Ok Give me Rs 1000 then Sagar Please sir take Rs 500 and let us goGojare asks his accomplice and after his approval takes R500 and leaves from the spotConstable Sanjay MundeAttached to Matunga police stationSpot Five Gardens Matunga Date January 11 2016 Time 913 pmAccompanied by reporter Sailee Sagar parked his car in a remote spot near Five Gardens Matunga After waiting at the spot for around an hour Munde arrived in a police van The questions fired by Munde were more or less similar to what Ranjane had askedMunde Where do you stay Sagar Mulund Munde You stay in Mulund then why are you sitting here in the car Sagar We were just sitting sirMunde When did I say you were doing something You are a resident of Mulund The highway leads to Mulund so what is the motive behind you sitting hereSagar No motive as such we were just sitting Munde Give me the reason you are sitting here in such a secluded locationSagar This area is not secluded Besides we were just sitting in my car Three constables seated in the car ask the reporter for his name address and licence Munde You are sitting at a very wrong place Sagar Sorry sir I made a mistake please let me go Munde I am not here to trouble you but the way you are treating us is very wrong Sagar What do you mean Munde Yells You are treating us in a very wrong way Sagar So how do I treat you sir What are you trying say I am not able to understand Munde How do I explain this to you I mean the place where you are sitting is not your daily routeSagar Sir I made a mistake please let me go The constable accompanying Munde claimed there was a call to the control room about someone sitting in a white car thereMunde We came here looking at each and every car parked in this lane Another constable They informed us that a suspicious car is parked in this lane Munde Now you tell me what are we supposed to inform the control room That no one was hereSagar Control Room Munde You want us to lie People staying in the area called the police control room and informed them We are well aware about the area The caller claimed that someone is seated in a white car so we came to check the entire lane We thought the call was about a white Toyota car but we found some old man was sitting in it so we came ahead and found you Sagar Please sir let us go Munde We will leave you We are not here to trouble anyone What benefit would we have by taking you to the police station Are you our enemy that we want to trouble you Sagar Thatrsquos true sir Sir take something and leave us sir Take R500 and leave us The constable takes the reporter aside Munde Donrsquot wait here somebody will call the control againSagar Sir please let us go Take Rs 500 and leave us Munde Takes the cash mdash OK donrsquot wait over here He leaves from the spotConstable not identifiedAttached to BandraKurla Complex BKC police stationSpot Bharat Nagar BKC Date January 18 2016 Time 910 pmConstable Where do you stay Sagar Mulund Constable What are you doing here Sagar We were just sitting in the car sir Constable You stay in Mulund What are you doing here Where do you work Sagar I work for a private company in South Mumbai Constable If people are sitting in the dark then there is a problem Sagar But sir we were just sitting in the car and were leaving from here Constable Come to the police station with me Sagar Sir why are you taking us to the police station We were just sitting sir Constable Are you both married Sagar No she is just my friend Constable She is your friend and you stay in Mulund Then what is the reason for both of you to sit here Sagar Sir no reason as such We were just sitting in the car and talking to each other Constable Come to the police station with us We will verify your identities by calling your parents to the police station Sagar Sir why are you involving our parents Constable Come we will call your family members Sagar Sir please letrsquos solve this hereConstable You wont be able to pay the fine Both of you call your parents to the police station and pay the fine We will hand both of you to your parents Sagar Sir please let us go Constable Should I call the patrolling van Sagar Sir please why do you want to call the patrolling van Constable Is this a VIP area There isnrsquot any security here The other day one incident took place inside there points towards a random spot Sagar What happened sirConstable Giving false information Some goons sexually harassed a couple It is so dark there can you see anyone walking here Buses are parked Can you see anything there Sagar Thatrsquos why I didnrsquot sit there sir I was sitting here Constable Come now Come with me to the police station Sagar Letrsquos solve the matter here Tries to hand him some money Constable Rs 100 is not sufficient Sagar Sir itrsquos 200 not 100 Constable Even Rs 200 wonrsquot do How can we settle the matter for Rs 200Sagar Sir please take Rs 400 and leave usConstable Suppose if someone comes shows you some weapon What would you do alone How much is this Pointing towards the cash Sagar How much do I give you sir Constable Rs 1000 Pay one personrsquos fine and go Sagar Sir Rs 1000 is too much Constable Then come with me to the police station and pay the fine Sagar Sir just for sitting here you are taking us to the police station Constable Donrsquot do it again a lady and a man arenrsquot supposed to sit here Sagar OK sir Constable Do not wait here Just leave Sagar Under which police station does this area BKC comeConstable How much is this Sagar Sir Rs 400 Constable Where do you work Sagar I work in a private company Constable Do your parents know that you are here with a girl Sagar But sir we were just sitting Constable I am not saying whether you were sitting or not Have you seen the spot inside thereSagar But this area comes under which police station Constable fumbling mdash Vakola BKC and Kherwadi Why do you know someone Sagar No I am just asking Constable Donrsquot come here again You stay in Mulund so be therePolice circular August 20 2015gtgt Though they were told about this before it has come to light that police officers and inspectors make unnecessary inquiries with younger and older couples roaming in public places such as Mumbairsquos malls beaches gardens hotels and enter hotel rooms flats and take action against couples as per the Maharashtra Police lawsgtgt While patrolling police officers inspectors should not criticise or make suggestions as to how citizens should behave and what they should weargtgt Such incidents have happened in Mumbai though the police donrsquot have the authority to interfere in a citizenrsquos privacygtgt All Mumbai police officers and inspectors are ordered not to take any such action that could malign the image of police in citizensrsquo mindsgtgt As per the notice of the Joint Commissioner of Police Law and Order given before do not take any action under Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act before taking the permission of the concerned Deputy Commissioner of PoliceShare your views at mailbagmiddaycom tweet your reactions mid_day write to us on our Facebook pageor leave a comment below