Reporting a crime, especially of domestic violence and sexual harassment has never been easy for women. However, for a 26-year-old Mumbai based lawyer, it became frightening and life threatening too. In one of her social media tweets, tagging Mumbai Police, she alleges that her information, official address and other personal details were leaked by the police.
"I want to understand how my home address reached my assaulter and why was he at my doorstep today morning yelling out my name. When my parents asked him who gave him the address, he said Mumbai Police gave him the address. He was high and still wasn't leaving," shares the girl while narrating her ordeal of being too scared to even leave the house.
"I cannot imagine my personal information was leaked out to my assaulter and please enlighten me how Mumbai Police intends to protect my life now that my assaulter knows where I live?" Calling women's safety in the country a joke, she further questions, "You tell women to report crimes and this is how you protect them?"
She also admits to receiving a call from Mumbai Police telling her that they do not share personal data, but she continues, "How else did a homeless man who was my assaulter and who had never known me, my name or anything related to me know my exact adhaar address?"
Tagging the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, she also questioned if this was happening because she had earlier pointed out how Andheri Railway Police botched up her complaint taking process.
The police notifies, cancels bail
Crediting the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) for giving the platform where grievances are acknowledged and expedited, she added, "This is what hurts me the most. That we have to log into Twitter, a social media app to ensure our complaints are acted upon at the earliest."
The incident from a local train
On September 21 of the last year, the victim alleged sexual assault and molestation while on her way to work in a local train. While separately pursuing the case against the perpetrator, she opened up on social media about her harrowing experience of lodging a complaint. "My sole purpose of writing this is a humble request to the Mumbai Police to sensitize your force and make them aware and accountable for their own duties especially for such sensitive incidents."
On reaching the Andheri Police station, reads the thread, "I was visibly distressed and crying. As I spoke to the police incharge and told them I was molested and I'd be comfortable speaking about it to a female cop, the first question he asked me was "Molestation kya hota hai"." She adds, "After explaining to the police woman about the details of my complaint, her first question to me was if my boyfriend did that to me. How does it matter?"
Finally when she identifies the perpetrator on CCTV footage at around 11.30 am, one of the police women says that she should have taken matters into her own hand,, "Arey maarna tha na usko aap toh advocate ho, maara kyu nahi" she ends the thread wondering the plight of ordinary, dependent women. "I'm a privileged woman living close to South Bombay. I take a packed local at peak morning hours to reach my workplace. I'm educated and financially independent. Being an advocate helps because I know the exact ambit of the duties of the police."
Even the netizens wondered the same, from what would be the plight of a woman commuter during odd hours to what would happen if she wasn't aware of her rights and the duties of the police? The Mumbai Police is yet to issue a statement on the matter.
