In a written complaint to the commissioner of police, advocate Kishore Joshi has expressed disgust at ``the pictures of young semi-nude women'' published in the eveninger daily on page 3 and captioned Mid-Day Mate. Demanding a ban on the same, he has urged the police commissioner to ``take action against the publisher, printer and editor of the newspaper under Section 292 (printing of obscene pictures) of the Indian Penal Code''. The complaint, written in October, has since been forwarded to the Social Services Branch of the Mumbai Police.

After initial denials, Police Inspector P Janjale, who is in charge of the matter, finally admitted to receiving such a complaint. ``The matter is under consideration,'' Janjale told Express Newsline. A senior employee with Mid-Day,however, claims the newspaper had not received a copy of the complaint saying Joshi should have contacted the newspaper first.

Remarks Joshi: ``I have been reading the eveninger for years now and have seen the pictures in the English edition of the newspaper. They are extremely nauseating and one cannot leave the newspaper for children to read. The printing of these pictures ought to be stopped in public interest.'' The advocate, who has been practising at the Borivli Metropolitan Magistrate's Court since the last 26 years, says he will initiate legal action if action is not taken soon.

Alleging that the police is pussy-footing around the issue, Joshi says he was summoned to the Social Services branch on October 9 to get his statement recroded. He claims he was ill-treated by Janjale. When he arrived, he says, the police officer told him he had consulted a government pleader who had said that since the ``private parts of the lady in the picture are covered the picture cannot be said to beobscene''.

When Joshi insisted on a written reply from the police, Janjale allegedly spoke to Joshi in a ``harsh'' tone and used ``extremely arrogant and uncourteous'' words.

In another letter dated, October 11, addressed to the director general of police, Joshi has lodged a complaint against Janjale. Janjale, himself, refused to comment.