Two girls allege molestation by mob in Delhi, police yet to file complaint, say it was an argument
Express news service
Posted online:
Monday , January 07, 2008 at 12:00:00
New Delhi, January 6 Aweek after a mob molested two
girls in Juhu,
Mumbai, another mob accosted two girls in the heart of the national
capital on Saturday night. The incident involving two Manipuri sisters living
in Gandhi Vihar is, however, raising questions about whether the Delhi Police
takes cases of molestation seriously.
The two sisters allege that they were attacked and molested by a group of
about 20 men on Saturday night but police, despite being approached for help,
haven’t registered a complaint yet.
One of the sisters, Anita (name changed), runs a cyber café from a rented
premise in Gandhi Vihar, near Timarpur. She said her younger sister, aged
18, who had come from Manipur some six months ago, had gone to purchase
vegetables from a nearby shop around 7.30 pm when two men followed her on a
motorcycle and passed lewd comments.
“My sister told me about this but I decided to ignore it. But within a few
minutes, a few boys gathered in front of my cyber café and started
screaming expletives,” said Anita.
She said she went out along with her younger brother to question the men
and an argument followed, during which she slapped one of them. Around 9
pm they returned with a group of some 25 men, many of whom were drunk.
She said the group beat up and molested them.
“The men told me that we women from Northeast spread immorality in
Delhi and we should just pack our bags and leave,” she told
Newsline.
The girls dialled the police for help. “We informed the Northeast
helpline and also spoke to DCP (West) Robin Hibu. He told us to
lodge a formal complaint,” Anita added.
But no FIR has been registered till now. “It is not exactly a case
of molestation. The girls had an argument with their neighbours,
so they called for police help,” said a senior police officer. DCP
(North) D C Srivastav told Newsline that the persons have been
identified. “We are investigating the case,” he said.
The men have allegedly been teasing the siblings for over a
month now. But the girls aren’t ready yet to pack their bags
leave. “I have been living in
Delhi for last five years. This one incident cannot force
me to leave my livelihood,” said Anita.
| Delhi remains unsafe for women from northeast | |
| Wednesday, 09 January , 2008, 13:21 | |
|
New Delhi: Almost half the women sexually
harassed in the Indian capital and its neighbourhood
are from the northeast, says the Northeast Support
Centre. Two sisters from Manipur who were molested and
beaten up last weekend were only the latest victims
from the region.
Madhu Chandra, the man behind the Northeast Support
Centre and Helpline, a help centre dedicated to
youth from the northeast living in
Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR),
said they were flooded with complaints related to
sexual harassment.
|
|
"It's been just three months since we launched the
Northeast Support Centre and we have received more than 10
reports of sexual harassment," Chandra told IANS.
"From what we have researched and according to media
reports, we have found that nearly 50 per cent of the
cases of sexual harassment are targeted at women from
the northeast."
The Delhi-NCR region has nearly 85,000 people from the
northeast. More than 4,000 northeastern youth take
admission to various undergraduate and other courses in
Delhi University every year.
Chandana Saikia from Assam who graduated from Delhi
University and is now working in a public relations
firm in the capital said that even after seven years
of staying in this city, she didn't feel safe or
secure.
"Every other day we keep hearing of cases of
molestation and sexual harassment in
Delhi. Although I take all of this in my
stride, my parents back at home are always worried
and give me panic calls if they can't get through
my phone," Saikia told IANS.
"But despite giving everyone an impression
that nothing scares me, I am always on my
guard. Even after seven years of staying in
the capital, I don't feel at home here," she
added.
Similarly, Lara Subba from Manipur, who
lives with her friend in north Delhi, said
she doesn't feel secure in the capital at
all and constantly feels threatened.
"The other day I and my friend were coming
in a rickshaw when two men started
following us, calling us 'chinkies' and
passing lewd remarks. Scared, I started
screaming at the top of my voice, which
made them change their route," Subba said.
"Just because we look different and wear
more Western outfits, people think that
they can take us for granted. That's why
we usually stick together, with people
from our own community."
In May 2005, a 19-year-old Delhi
University student from the
northeast was raped by four men in a
moving car after dragging her from a
roadside eatery in south Delhi's
Dhaula Kuan area. The sensational
case made headlines for days.
In September last year, there was
a huge outcry when three
northeastern girls were molested
in the Delhi University campus.
Then in December, the Northeast
Support Centre received a
complaint from a girl from Manipur
working as a receptionist in a
private company in Gurgaon that
her boss molested her in the
office.
Similarly, a minor northeastern
girl in Gurgaon is still
suffering after she was molested
three times in December by her
house owner.
Ranjana Kumari, director of
the Centre for Social
Research and president of
Women Power Connect (WPC),
said this issue is more
prevalent in the northern
belt because of the mindset
of the men.
"In the northern belt, the
mindset is such that the
men believe they can
control women physically.
That's why they can't
stand the freedom of
sexuality that men and
women in the northeast
enjoy," Kumari said.
"There's no way out of
this problem but for
women to take charge
of these issues. In
this regard, we will
be observing a
National Shame day
across the country,
hopefully coinciding
with the Women's day
March 8, to tell
people that women must
be respected."
D C Srivastava, the
deputy commissioner
of police, north
Delhi, however, said
that in the past
year-and-a-half,
they have registered
just two cases of
sexual harassment
against northeastern
women.
"The number of
such cases is
not that high,"
he said.
The reason for
this,
according to
Chandra, is
that victims
of sexual or
any other kind
of harassment
hesitate to
lodge an
official
complaint with
the police.
"Staying so
far away
from home
and not
wanting to
get into any
complicated
situation,
most
complainants
who come to
us hesitate
to approach
the police
and lodge a
first
information
report
(FIR),"
Chandra
said.
"When we
tell
them
that we
are not
here to
replace
the
police,
but help
facilitate
smoother
communication
with
them,
they
leave
the case
at that.
That's
why most
of the
crimes
go
unreported
and the
accused
goes
scot-free.
This is
a major
hurdle
that we
are
facing,"
Chandra
said.
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