Focus on crime, not moral policing: Home dept to cops

The public outpouring of outrage following the police clamp down on 'indecent dancing' at a suburban bar last week, seems to have finally reached the ears of the state government.

The public outpouring of outrage following the police clamp down on 'indecent dancing' at a suburban bar last week, seems to have finally reached the ears of the state government.

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Flaying the Mumbai police for its 'over zealousness', the home department, on Thursday, asked them to focus on core policing instead. The action by the home department came after chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, irked by the negative publicity the incident got the government, asked home department officials to send out a clear message to the policemen that their priority was law and order. He had discussed the issue with top department officials earlier this week.

Sources in the state secretariat told HT that a senior home department official had called senior police officials on Wednesday asking them why the police was indulging in moral policing when basic issues like the safety of people on roads were not addressed.

"They have been told to ensure that people are safe on roads and not being robbed and that criminal cases are investigated," a senior official said.