Delhi University student harassed at traffic signal; uses Facebook to corner eve-teaser

New Delhi: A 20-year-old Delhi University student was allegedly harassed by a youth in west Delhi's Tilak Nagar area who also brashly posed for a photograph when told by the former that she would report the matter to police. After reporting the matter to police, the girl uploaded the photograph of the accused on Facebook with the post soon going viral.

The accused, identified as Sarabjit Singh (26), has been arrested and booked under Sections 354A (punishment for sexual harassment) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of IPC, said a senior police official. Singh is a resident of the Paschimpuri area of west Delhi.

DCP (West) Pushpendra Kumar also said that Delhi Police have announced a cash reward of Rs 5,000 for the girl, a final year English literature student. According to police, the matter was reported at around 8 P.M. yesterday and an FIR registered.

In her complaint, the girl told police that she was confronted by the accused at a traffic intersection in Tilak Marg, where he allegedly passed lewd remarks at her with several others looking on.

The woman reportedly took a photograph of the number plate of Singh's motorbike and, when she was about to take a photograph of the accused, he posed for it, despite being told that she was going to report the matter to police. He later sped away, said the police official.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal later lauded the girl's courage and said in a post on twitter, "Congratulate... her bravery. Girls of Delhi should follow her & speak up against such unacceptable acts."

Meanwhile, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal condemned the incident and said it was shameful that people stood watching and did not come to the girl's help.

"She went to the police and registered her complaint despite threats. Such cases affect the whole of society and systems. This is not an individual case. We have to see the four pillars of our democracy.

"Whenever such cases happen, they affect the pillars, judiciary and police. It is very shameful that 20 people were standing and watching... that is wrong. Why didn't they think if she were to be their sister or daughter," Maliwal told reporters here.