Sari-clad moral police on prowl in Diamond City

SURAT: A young couple sitting outside a garden in Athwa saw a woman soliciting clients on the road. The couple complained to an NGO and soon 15 women members of the group reached the garden. These women of Modi Smarathak Mahila Mandal asked the woman not to practice ?her trade in the open'.
"We go out in groups to public places where anti-social activities take place.We try to catch culprits red-handed. First we convince them not to indulge in anti-social activities, if they don't listen we hand them over to police," Modi Samarthak Mahila Mandal president Ujwala Nikam said.
The NGO, which was set up three years ago, has a membership of 75,000 women in the city. At least 5,000 of them are active members of the group.
"We don't teach anti-social people lessons in morality but what is expected of them in a society. We tell what is considered indecent and that they need to stay away from displaying such behaviour in public. If they don't listen to us then we call in the police," said a woman member of the NGO.
"So far, we have been going to the spot from where we got complaints. But, now we are starting a programme to regularly monitor vulnerable spots in the city," said BJP MLA Sangita Patil. She too is a member of this organization.
Modi Smarathak Mahila Mandal had recently warned eight people in Athwalines to not display indecent behaviour in public. They regularly visit gardens in Udhna and Limbayat zones in the city.
NS Vasava, incharge, mahila police station, told TOI, "Such NGOs are welcome as they help curb crimes that lead to IPC 376. They help the police and the society by playing the role of a watchdog for the society. These types of NGOs must be encouraged, especially by the police."