Two young men were alone at a secluded part of the city last week when they were spotted by a few residents. T... Read More

NAGPUR: Two young men were alone at a secluded part of the city last week when they were spotted by a few residents. Thinking them to be robbers, they called the police. Noting that one of the guys was effeminate, the police asked them whether they were gay , which they were. The men were taken to the police station, locked up for the entire night and were asked for a huge sum of money so that a complaint was not registered against them for indulging in indecent acts which are forbidden under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code . Earlier this week, another man was taken to a hospital after overdosing on sleeping pills. During the subsequent inquiry, the police came to know that he had attempted suicide because of a tough break-up with his boyfriend. They told him that they could incriminate him for being gay, taunted him for indulging in such a lifestyle and left after slapping charges of attempted suicide on him. This was done after a decent amount was handed over to them for the ‘adjustment’. “Such instances are becoming increasingly common. Cops only know that Section 377 criminalizes gay sex without realizing that they cannot punish someone they have not caught red-handed in a compromising position. Often, they visit the pick up points where gay men meet and extort money from them,” informed gay rights activist Anand Chandrani . He added that in other instances, it has been enough for a person to acknowledge being gay for police to start harassing and blackmailing. Fear of being ‘outed’ to family or society keeps them from taking any action against such cops. Legal experts say that since the police are public officials, one can’t stop them from performing their duties. However, the legality of their actions can only be challenged before a proper forum like their seniors, judiciary or home department. Doing this puts such victims at the risk of their identities being revealed in public. When told about this trend, joint commissioner of police Rajvardhan said that he cannot take any action against erring police officers until a formal complaint is made. “We will ensure that if such things are happening, they stop,” he said. He also said that the identity of anyone who wants to make such a complaint will be kept under wraps and invited people over to his office to inform him of such instances.