Bajrang Dal in Dehradun has vowed to film couples indulging in PDA on Valentine's Day. The Hindutva right-wing group is also said to deploy at least 250 activists in the city.
According to The Times of India, a reason for this is to make sure that nothing unethical takes place. The Bajrang Dal added that they will also film stalkers and harassers to submit the footage to the police.
The activists will be stationed outside malls, colleges (especially women's colleges) and parks on Valentine's Day. The Bajrang Dal wants to do this to refute harassing and stalking allegations against their activists.
"When we approach police, people deny what we allege and instead claim that we harassed them. Hence, we will make videos and submit them as evidence. We will not harass random couples but only those who engage in obscenity in public," Vikas Verma, the in-charge of deploying the activists, told TOI.
He also said, "We will blur faces in the videos or shoot only legs so that such clips are not misused by anyone."
However, Shwetha Chaubey, the Superintendent of Police (City), said that they will make sure that the Bajrang Dal will not film couples in public places.
"We have formed police teams who will be present at public places on Valentine's Day to maintain law and order. We will not allow any kind of moral policing by Bajrang Dal or anybody. They will have to face the music if they harass couples," she said.
Moral policing and intrusion into the couple's activities have seen an increase in recent days. The Hyderabad metro released footage of couples sharing intimate moments in the elevators.
Schools and colleges are also on high alert. In Bengaluru, authorities have asked parents to be extra vigilante on their children's activities around February 14. They have also banned red and pink clothes from being worn in schools or even exchange gifts.
Karnataka Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools (KAMS) have asked teachers and parents to check their children's school bags for any items related to Valentine's Day. To add more, the schools have been asked by KAMS to send these messages to parents via SMS and not school diaries since the students have access to the latter.
