Three software engineers from Hyderabad and a cinematographer from Mumbai have allegedly been harassed by the police at 1.30 am on June 22 during their stay at a resort in Eegalapenta -- a village located about 190 km from Hyderabad. The friends, all in their early thirties, claimed they felt "extremely unsafe" when the three policemen suddenly arrived at the door and started shouting at them for disregarding "Indian culture" and staying in one room without being married. They said they returned from the trip traumatised.
Shreya Datta, a software engineer who has been working in Hyderabad for almost two years, told Moneycontrol that she had booked a double room for herself and a friend at Hilltop Murugavani Resorts for about Rs 8,000. They were supposed to stay on Saturday night and return to the city on Sunday. When two more friends joined in for the weekend trip, she called the resort to ask for another room, but there was no vacancy.
"During multiple calls with the resort staff, we were assured that they would provide us with mattresses in the same room and did not seem to have any problem with the arrangement. When we checked in, they asked for my ID proof because the room was booked in my name and I gave it to them," she said, adding that if the staff had asked for everyone else's IDs, they would have easily provided the details.
Around 1 am, however, the police arrived at their door with some of the hotel. "There were three police officers and first, they asked us who we are and where we are from. Then he asked all of us, including the women, to step out of the room and began to shout at us about Indian culture. He said that unmarried men and women should not stay in a room," said Arani Majumder, a software engineer who has been working in Hyderabad for more than eight years.
"The police sub-inspector, D Veeramallu, told us outright that four men and women living in the same room goes against Indian culture and started to berate us," added Datta. "He even sized us up, looking at us from top to bottom. Without the presence of any woman police officer, the whole ordeal was unnerving. We felt extremely unsafe. We kept telling them that we were friends and were put up in one room because another room wasn't available, but he didn't stop. But, as soon as we started recording the incident, he changed tracks and started talking about security."
Shramana Sen, the cinematographer from Mumbai who had joined the rest in Hyderabad, added that the police continued with their questioning even after they offered to show the relevant documents. "On camera, they were asking us to answer their questions, but we had already answered them. It was difficult to understand what the police wanted. It felt like we were being harassed intentionally."
The whole ordeal went on for about 15 minutes before the police left.
"The incident has left us traumatised. We had only gone for a weekend trip," Majumder said.
Police disturbed guests because they held a grudge against the resort: Staff
Meanwhile, the staff at Hilltop Murugavani Resorts said that the police officers decided to disturb the guests because they held a grudge against the resort. "This is the third time this month the police conducted surprise checks here," the manager (name withheld to protect identity) told Moneycontrol. "Police officers often come here for food and accommodation and we oblige them when rooms are available. But on June 22, we were full so when they asked us for a room in the middle of the night, we could not accommodate them."
Angry at being turned away, Veeramallu allegedly threatened to conduct room checks and despite being requested to not disturb the guests, they banged on all of the resort's 20 rooms.
"We asked them for the search warrant but they threatened us and began to bang on every door. All the other guests were family, so he let them go but when he reached room 207 -- where Ms Datta and her friends were put up -- he called them out and began to shout at them saying unmarried men and women should not stay in the same room. He said that it's foreign culture, not Indian culture," the manager said.
He also corroborated that Datta had indeed asked for a separate room but since none was available they were offered extra bedding in the same room.
The manager added that several guests filed a complaint with the resort authorities; some even left early in the morning. "Our guests pay Rs 7,000-Rs 8,000 per night to stay here. Why would they tolerate such a nuisance?"
'Was instructed by seniors to conduct checks': Accused police officer
Meanwhile, the accused sub-inspector Veeramallu said he conducted surprise checks because he was instructed to do so by senior officers. “As part of regular duty, we checked the antecedents of the guests. In one room, there were two men and two women and when checked only one individual had identity proof,” he told Telangana Today.
He also said that the hotel staff should have collected ID proofs of all the four guests, especially if they were unmarried.
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