Bengaluru woman touched inappropriately inside metro, confronts molester
A woman travelling in Namma Metro in Bengaluru was allegedly touched inappropriately by a middle-aged man. She confronted the man and slapped him twice. The woman then approached the police, who registered a Non-Cognisable Report. Talking about her ordeal, the woman, said that the male passenger tried to touch her and grab her, while sitting next to her inside the metro. The man was allegedly drunk.
New Delhi: A 25-year-old woman in Bengaluru recounted her horror of travelling in Namma Metro train, when she was touched inappropriately by a fellow passenger. She claimed that the incident happened when she was travelling in the metro in central Bengaluru and added that she was also subjected to obscene behaviour by the harasser.
Police register Non-Cognisable Report
Following the incident, the city police registered a Non-Cognisable Report (NCR) in the matter. An NCR allows police to record information about a case, but does not require immediate arrest or detention of the offender without court permission.
According to a report in NDTV, the incident happened inside a metro train. THe girl alleged that she was touched by the man, who was drunk as the train approached the busy Majestic interchange station. The offender has been identified as 55-year-old Mutappa.
The police said that Mutappa was intoxicated during the journey and repeatedly fell on the girl inside the metro train. The girl confronted him inside the metro and then informed security personnel at the metro station about the incident.
After she complained to the metro security staff, the matter was referred to the police. The Upparpet Police Station registered a NCR and summoned the accused. He was issued a warning and released.
Woman talks about ordeal
The woman in a video released after the incident said that she was initially seated between a man and a woman. Her metro journey was all of 15 minutes. She recalled that the man seated next to her got down at his destination and another passenger took his place.
This new passenger, also a man, sat unusually close to her, said the woman. This made her pretty uncomfortable. She assumed that the lack of space was the reason for her discomfort and tried making room for herself, as well as the man sitting next to her. But she soon found the man's hand pressing against her body , making her even more uncomfortable.
The woman said that despite her attempts to move, the man continued to touch her inappropriately. She said that he later tried to put his legs against her legs inside the train. She said, "That moment, I realised this is not a mistake. This is intentional."
She said that the man's act left her feeling violated and angry. She said that after her station arrived, she stood up from her seat and slapped the man. She then realised that, her molester was also going to get down at the same station. She said that she slapped him again at the station's platform and he started crying and begging, but also continued to smile intermittently. The man was speaking Kannada, which the woman said she did not understand.
On seeing the entire commotion, metro security personnel intervened. They escorted both passengers away from the platform. There, the woman insisted on filing a police complaint. Both passengers were then taken to the police station.
There, the woman said she learnt further details about the man, which disturbed her further. She was told that the man had been riding the metro for more than an hour continuously and had not exited at any of the stations. He was also reportedly drunk.
She was also advised by the police that if something of this sort happened again, she should just get up and move away. This angered her further. Following the 'advice' the woman asked, "Firstly, how would I know that someone sitting next to me is a person like this? Should I ask every man I meet, 'Are you a predator?".