Kerala HC reunites lesbian-couple separated by parents
Kochi, May 31: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday reunited a lesbian-couple which had been separated by their parents who did not approve of the relationship.
The court allowed the women to live together after one of them moved a habeas corpus petition seeking directions to the police to produce her partner -- a Kozhikode native -- who had been allegedly taken away by force by her parents from the petitioner's home.
The court initially asked the police to produce the Kozhikode native before it and when she appeared before the Bench, she said she wanted to live with the petitioner.
As both women were adults and wanted to live together, the court allowed their plea.
The petitioner -- a native of Ernakulam -- had initially taken to social media to draw attention to her same-sex relationship with a schoolmate, their families' opposition to the same and the subsequent taking away of her partner, allegedly by force, by the latter's parents.
She had alleged, in her video posts on social media, that not only has her friend's family taken her away by force, but the police also have not done anything to bring her back.
However, the police had claimed that it had intervened in the matter right from the start and that the other woman -- a Kozhikode native - had given in writing that she was leaving with her parents willingly.
It had also claimed that it was ready to take whatever steps necessary to protect the rights of the Ernakulam resident who is presently staying away from her parents in a short-stay home.
The woman had on Monday filed a complaint with Aluva police, claiming that her partner had been taken away by force by the latter's parents, police had said.
In her posts, the woman had claimed that she had first approached the Thamarassery police station with a complaint, but they allegedly took no action.
She had also claimed that her friend was missing for several days and the latter's family members too are nowhere to be found.
According to her video posts, the two women met each other in Saudi Arabia when they were studying in class XI in a school there.
By class XII, they realised they were both lesbians and that they were in love, said her posts.
When their respective parents found out about their relationship, they lied that they would discontinue it, she said and added that after they returned to India and joined college, they continued with their relationship.
They also researched about same sex or LGBTIQ community and collected contact details of various groups, organisations and people supporting them, the social media posts said.
Subsequently, the Ernakulam resident went to Kozhikode to meet her friend and they both then took shelter in a home run by Vanaja Collective, which claims to work for the welfare of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) community.
Thereafter, their parents met them at the home and on the assurances of protection given by the family of the Ernakulam residents, both women went with them.
At her home, her family allegedly blackmailed and emotionally tortured both women and then one day, the mother, sister and some others known to the Kozhikode native came with a petition claiming she had been abducted and was being held against her will, alleged the Ernakulam resident.
They asked the father of the Ernakulam resident to hold her back and forcibly dragged her partner away, said the posts.
She had alleged that she was also able to get in touch with her friend just once a few days later, when the latter was reportedly in some clinic in Malappuram, and thereafter, there has been no contact from her end.
Even the family of the Kozhikode native is not reachable over phone as their numbers are switched off, she had claimed in her post.
She claimed that her friend's mother had assured that she would be produced before a court in a few days time, but nothing of that sort has been done.
Today, she moved the court with a plea claiming her partner was being illegally confined by her parents.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
