KOLKATA: Just last week a young couple was trashed for “public display of affection and obscene behaviour” on a Metro train. The incident has evoked sharp reaction from youths and 'Hok Alingan' (Let There Be Hugging) groups gathered on Metro stations last week in protest. Witnesses to the episode said the young couple travelling by a Dum Dum-bound late evening train were harassed by some commuters for standing too close to each other. They were pushed out of the train at Dum Dum station and thrashed till some other commuters rescued them.
A video of the moral policing incident went viral on social media. It prompted Metro Railway to convene a press conference to explain its stand on the social issue. Metro Railway General Manager Ajay Vijayvargiya said, “We scrutinised the CCTV footage but couldn't find anything concrete. We couldn't determine what happened.” Kolkata Metro uploaded a post on their Facebook page condemning the act of moral policing and ensuring an inquiry into the incident. However, an administrator of the page justified the attack and said that “young generation people do not know decency and good manners.” Once the post went viral on social media, the comment was promptly deleted.
The comment said, “What wrong has been done by the passengers. Nothing. It is the inevitable fallout of year-long vulgarity shown by a section of young generation. In Metro train, most of the young generation people do not know decency and good manner. To speak in English does not mean civilisation. Good qualities are totally lacking in young generation people and morality a distant dream.”
