Bangalore, Aug 11 (Bangalore Mirror): In a city where sickos seem to be having a field day, one spunky young woman has sent out a powerful message worth emulating. Veena Ashiya Chindlur was on her daily jog in the neighbourhood park on Friday morning when a man started sexually harassing her. Instead of letting it pass as the staple nuisance women face, Veena decided to take him on. She chased him till she caught up with him, hit him and then complained to the police.
Luckily for the resident of Jayanagar Seventh Block, her friend, who was working out along with her, immediately pulled out her phone to take pictures of the accused, but she ended up recording the entire chase. The snapshots were given to the police who responded promptly to their call and, within 40 minutes, traced the man loitering in the area and arrested him.
For good measure, the entrepreneur posted the video clipping on FB with a message: "Taught an eve-teaser a tough lesson! I was eve-teased this morning by a guy in a park where I run regularly. I chased him, hit him hard and filed an FIR. Police were extremely supportive. I am posting this video for women to know that change will happen only when we want it to happen!" The video has clocked 3,000 likes when this article was written..
A regular at the park, Veena says they are a set of people who work out regularly, so the stranger's presence was conspicuous. "Around 9.30 am, my friend and I were jogging when he made strange noises and eve-teased me. I tried to scare him by running after him. He tried to flee, but I chased him and hit him. However, he managed to escape," recounts Veena. Her friend's presence of mind, though, bolstered the case as the video helped police nab the culprit.
But the irony of the incident is not lost on Veena who found some people "unable to digest the fact that women can also retaliate and called the incident orchestrated."
"My friend took out her phone to click his pictures and ended up shooting the episode. This is called orchestrated by some on FB, which is very sad. The fact that women can react and hit back is just not acceptable in our society," she rues.
After the pervert fled, Veena remained in the park and spotted a lone bike in the parking area. Recalling that the man was holding a helmet, she suspected it could be his two-wheeler. "Nobody came to help me and as I was standing in the park, I spotted a policeman. I narrated the incident to him and he immediately called the patrolling vehicle." Veena says the cop noted down the bike number and she also gave snapshots of the man captured on the cell phone. The heckler was still in the same area so the pictures helped the cops nab him quickly. Veena is all praise for the Jayanagar police, saying they were "quick, polite, prompt and respectful."
The accused has been identified as K R Suryaprakash, 30, a resident of Banashankari III Stage. In the FIR, the police say the accused made lewd gestures. A case has been registered under IPC section 354 (A) and section 509. Section 509 reads: "Whoever, intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both." Section 354 deals with outraging the modesty of a woman. The accused was sent to court and let off on bail.
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