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Moral policing? Pune Top Cop flags lack of restrictions in private students accomodations

Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar said these accommodations had become ‘addas’ of ‘unwanted things’.

2 min readPuneUpdated: Nov 20, 2025 01:14 PM IST

Police Commissioner raises concerns over private hostels/PGs lacking control on student timings and inter-hostel visits. (File)

Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar on Wednesday raised issues with private hostels and paying guest accommodations for college students having no time restrictions. During his speech unveiling the city police’s year-long plan for improving campus safety and discipline, Kumar also raised issues with boys being allowed to enter girls’ hostels and vice versa, saying that these accommodations had become ‘addas’ of ‘unwanted things’.

He said, “…the private hostels, it’s not a generalized statement, but many of them have become addas for a lot of unwanted things. There is absolutely no control over the children, the time when they are coming in, the time when they are going out, whether girls are being allowed in boys’ hostels, whether boys are being allowed in girls’ hostels, it requires serious rethinking.”

When questioned by The Indian Express about whether his remarks raising objections on residential choices of adult students veer into the realm of moral policing, Kumar responded, “It is not a question of moral policing, it is a question of trying to ensure that the student community and the youth are a disciplined lot. They have come here to the city with a certain objective. Certain aberrations could be acceptable from their point of view. Certain aberrations are strict violations of the rule of law. As long as it is not a violation of the rule of law, we are not inclined to be intervening in it. But the moment it crosses the boundary of violating the rule of law, I am sorry, we are going to implement it with a very firm hand.”

“As long as aberrations are not falling within the violations of law, it has been only an appeal to the educational institutes to try and see what they want to enforce, what they do not want to enforce. Our end solution has to be to minimize aberrations and ensure that there is voluntary compliance of rules and regulations,” he said.

Soham Shah

Soham Shah is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Pune. A journalism graduate with a background in fact-checking, he brings a meticulous and research-oriented approach to his current reporting. Professional Background Role: Correspondent coverig education and city affairs in Pune. Specialization: His primary beat is education, but he also maintains a strong focus on civic issues, public health, human rights, and state politics. Key Strength: Soham focuses on data-driven reporting on school and college education, government reports, and public infrastructure. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) His late 2025 work highlights a transition from education-centric reporting to hard-hitting investigative and human-rights stories: 1. Investigations & Governance "Express Impact: Mother's name now a must to download birth certificate from PMC site" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on a significant policy change by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) following his earlier reports on gender inclusivity in administrative documents. "44-Acre Mahar Land Controversy: In June, Pune official sought land eviction at Pawar son firm behest" (Nov 9, 2025): An investigative piece on real estate irregularities involving high-profile political families. 2. Education & Campus Life Faculty crisis at SPPU hits research, admin work: 62% of govt-sanctioned posts vacant, over 75% in many depts (Sept 12, 2025): An investigative piece on professor vacancies at Savitribai Phule Pune University. "Maharashtra’s controversial third language policy: Why National Curriculum Framework recommends a third language from Class 6" (July 2): This detailed piece unpacks reasons behind why the state's move to introduce a third language from class 1 was controversial. "Decline in number of schools, teachers in Maharashtra but student enrolment up: Report" (Jan 2025): Analyzing discrepancies in the state's education data despite rising student numbers. 3. Human Rights & Social Issues "Aanchal Mamidawar was brave after her family killed her boyfriend" (Dec 17, 2025): A deeply personal and hard-hitting opinion piece/column on the "crime of love" and honor killings in modern India. "'People disrespect the disabled': Meet the man who has become face of racist attacks on Indians" (Nov 29, 2025): A profile of a Pune resident with severe physical deformities who became the target of global online harassment, highlighting issues of disability and cyber-bullying. Signature Style Soham is known for his civil-liberties lens. His reporting frequently champions the rights of the marginalized—whether it's students fighting for campus democracy, victims of regressive social practices, or residents struggling with crumbling urban infrastructure (as seen in his "Breathless Pune" contributions). He is adept at linking hyper-local Pune issues to larger national conversations about law and liberty. X (Twitter): @SohamShah07 ... Read More

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