Shainu Mohan By Express News Service KOCHI: The state might race ahead in terms of education but the psychological health of people seems not to grow matching this high standards. Despite efforts, random incidents of moral policing continue to be reported from across the state. The interventions being made by the state government to make the city safe for couples and women turn futile when the police themselves adopt moral policing and prevent victims from registering complaints legally. In a recent incident in the capital city, 24-year-old Sreelakshmi Arackal, a BEd student, who decided to spend an evening with her male friends at Shankumukham beach had to experience moral policing by miscreants and the police. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think about such a situation. We were in front of the Secretariat setting up a shed for the CAA protest which was scheduled to happen the next day. Later in the evening, my friends and I decided to go to the beach. We reached there around 9.30 pm. After spending a few hours there, we decided to leave. But suddenly some people, who claimed to be local residents, approached us, started abusing and making offensive remarks. When one of my friends started recording a video, they attacked him. We fled the scene in fear,” says Sreelakshmi, who hails from Kannur. According to Sreelakshmi, the response of the police was more shocking than what happened at the beach.“The police started asking me whether I was drunk and what my business was at the beach at such odd hours. They also asked me why I filed a complaint at 1.30am on January 12 when the incident occurred at 11.30pm on January 11. The police started advising me against going out late at night. However, I have received justice through my post on social media which went viral,” she says. According to the police, special training is being imparted to police officers to improve their behaviour and attitude towards women and children. “The Kerala State Women Development Corporation is giving special training for police personnel. So far, they have provided training for eight batches,” said an official of Police Training College, Thiruvananthapuram. The official said that more people should register complaints if the police behaved in such a manner. “A few policemen assume that they are above the law and like to show off their power by passing such comments,” said the official.

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