Delhi metro molestation: He said sorry, groped me again, says victim scribe

New Delhi: I have had too many #MeToos in life, but this was probably the most dreadful one. 

It was a usual day for me as I was returning home after office. I followed the same routine on the night of November 13 of walking to the ITO metro station. While I was descending the steps to reach the metro station, a man, who was walking behind me, touched me from behind. At first I thought it could be ‘unintentional’ but confronted him. He said ‘sorry’ but groped me the next instant. 

I fought back. He hit me with full force and ran down the steps to escape. I tried my best to chase him but he managed to flee. I had chased him till outside the station premises, but he escaped. 

When the incident happened and I was struggling to catch him, I had screamed several times. But to my dismay, the security personnel stationed about 300 metre away from the stairs were unable to hear my cries for help. Two CISF constables reached the spot about ten minutes after the harrowing incident had occurred. They asked me whether I would want to register a formal complaint in the matter and I was persistent to do the same. I was then taken to the station control room and called the DCP of the Delhi Metro Rail Police to register a formal complaint in the matter and lodge an FIR. 

The police reached later and took my ‘first hand account’ of the incident. A CCTV footage confirmed the sequence of events. It also served as the foolproof evidence to nail the culprit and put him behind the bars. The accused was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days by the Patiala House court on Friday evening, four nights after the ordeal. 

What pains me is the fact that not just my sibling but hundreds of women commuters travel by the Delhi Metro daily. The metro has been touted the safest public transport. If an incident of such gravity can occur inside the metro premises, where do we turn to?