In pics: 'Kiss of love' campaign meets wall of cops, fails to take off

Just as the march began at around 4pm, the police team led by DCP (Law and Order), R Nishantini, took the organisers and sympathisers into custody and bundled them into a police van as they raised slogans against moral policing.

The much-hyped 'Kiss of Love' event set to take place in Kochi on Sunday, failed to take off as police detained the organisers and sympathisers, including women, even before they could reach the venue of the symbolic protest against moral policing. Just as the march began at around 4pm, the police team led by DCP (Law and Order), R Nishantini, took the organisers and sympathisers into custody and bundled them into a police van as they raised slogans against moral policing.

HT Image

Protesters on Sunday blocked roads leading to Kochi’s Marine Drive, the venue for ‘Kiss of Love’ — a mass-kissing campaign against alleged moral policing by right-wing groups. (PTI Photo)

Though organisers had claimed that 5000 activists would take part in the event many pro-kiss activists backed out at the eleventh hour fearing violence. (HT Photo)

50-odd activists were planning to march towards Marine Drive the venue of the event when they were stopped by the police. (PTI Photo)

Since morning many anti-kiss drive activists had swarmed Marine Drive and assembled at vantage points insisting that they won’t allow the event come what may. (PTI Photo)

The police detained the organisers and sympathisers, including women, even before they could reach the venue of the symbolic protest against moral policing. (HT Photo)

A police team led by DCP (Law and Order), R Nishantini, took the organisers and sympathisers into custody and bundled them into a police van.(HT Photo)