’Don’t wait for an eve-teaser to convert into a rapist’

’Don’t wait for an eve-teaser to convert into a rapist’

Mangalore Today News Network

Jan 05, 2017: When Samya Gupta was sexually harassed while travelling in a bus, she decided not to let her perpetrator get away with just an apology. Instead, she bravely took him to task to ensure she got justice.

A resident of Lucknow, Samya wrote a Facebook post narrating a harrowing tale of how she realised that a man sitting behind her in the bus was making inappropriate moves. "The moment I realized, I stood up from my seat, yelled and asked for his ID proof, to which he obviously refused. I secured support from my co-passengers. He apologized. My co-passengers asked me to accept it, and let it go," she wrote. It was in that moment when she decided to fight for her justice. After getting support from some of her co-passengers, she told the bus driver to drop her off at the closest police station.

Her reasoning was simple - she didn’t want to wait for her molester to "convert into a rapist" before he was held accountable for his actions.

A law student, Samya was conversant with the procedures that had to be followed while lodging a complaint and filed an FIR. After this, she was accosted by acquaintances of the accused who tried to threaten and intimidate her into dropping the charges. They tried to tell her that as a father of two, this man was not capable of what she had accused him of.

Read the full post here:  I was sexually harassed today. Yes, harassed by man around 40 years old, while I was travelling back home in a Bus, filled with 30-35 people. While I was taking naps sitting on the second last seat of the bus, the man made inappropriate moves towards me from the seat behind me. The moment I realized, I stood up from my seat, yelled and asked for his ID Proof, to which he obviously refused. I secured support from my co-passengers. He apologized. My co-passengers asked me to accept it, and let it go. But I decided otherwise. I decided to not let it go. I decided to not let an audacious eve-teaser to go free merely by apologizing. And why to let it go? To allow him to make ‘apology’, a weapon, to get away? Because Eve-teasing is not that big an offence? To wait for him to convert into a rapist? Like really? EVEN A MINOR INAPPROPRIATE CONDUCT TOWARDS A WOMAN WITHOUT HER CONSENT, IS ACTIONABLE. I asked the bus driver to stop the bus on the next closest Police Station. I gained support of a couple of my Co-passengers, and I am really grateful to them. I went to the Police Station. I gave a written complaint. The procedures I was made to abide by in the Police Station, were too not co-operative. Also, being a law student, I realized everything written in the Criminal Procedure Code is purely fictional. The accused was handed over to the Police. The FIR was lodged. BUT. But the happenings did not really come to end. After a few distances were covered by the bus, the bus was occluded by some of accused’s acquaintances. They tried intimidating me, threatening me. Pointing on my character, they even professed that the accused is a father of two children and is therefore innocent. And even went on alleging I must be goofing around with various guys every now and then, therefore my allegations have no sense of veracity. And only because he happens to be a father of two children he shall be presumed innocent. APPLAUSE! But, no matter what, I am and I always will be glad that I did not let it go. And every time anything of such sort happens, I will ALWAYS fight for it. Because eve-teasing is not a small offence. P.S: DON’T WAIT FOR AN EVE-TEASER TO CONVERT INTO AN RAPIST. TAKE ACTIONS EVEN FOR THE SLIGHTIEST INAPPROPRIATE CONDUCT DONE TOWARDS YOU.