New Delhi, May 18 (EFE).- The authorities in the Indian capital of New Delhi have increased the number of police patrols inside the metro rail to stop so-called acts of indecency, after a video of a couple kissing inside a coach went viral, generating strong disapproval among a significant section of the conservative Indian society.
The clip, recorded by another passenger, was posted on social media, where many users criticized the act as “obscenity,” and some even suggested changing the name of “Delhi Metro” to “PornHub,” a popular adult website.
“I’ve seen a lot of couples – boys and girls – sitting in a very embarrassing position in the metro, hugging each other. It seems very weird, you are in a public place, you can’t do these things in a public place,” Samson Honey, a Delhi High Court lawyer who takes the metro everyday, told EFE.
In response to this and other similar incidents in recent weeks, the police in charge of security inside the capital’s metro rail announced this week that it would increase the number of patrols to avoid “obscene” activities, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Metro) Jitendra Mani told local agency PTI.
The result has been visible in recent days, with the police continuously patrolling the stations and metro trains, even though the premises were already heavily guarded for security reasons.
“Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has taken the right step to deploy police personnel to maintain public etiquette. It is not culturally and ethnically appropriate for people to do such acts in public spaces like the metro,” Honey said.
Over the last month, Delhi Metro has witnessed several controversies in this regard, including one in which a woman was reprimanded after a video went viral that showed her dressed in a bra and miniskirt on her journey.
“We don’t mind if someone is seen displaying a little affection in public, but engaging in obscene behavior is not safe and might offend a lot of people,” another traveler, who did not wish to be named, told EFE.
“Moreover, watching these behaviors in public is embarrassing and not culturally suitable,” he added, especially referring to other videos that were recently uploaded on social media showing men masturbating inside the metro in the presence of other travelers.
The capital’s metro has recently also experienced other grotesque, though less obscene, incidents, such as that of a man brushing his teeth, and a fight between two women in which one of them ended up using pepper spray on the other, affecting the rest of passengers. EFE
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