Vijayawada: Wi-Fi zones turn stalking centres

VIJAYAWADA: Free Wi-Fi zones in the city are becoming stalking points for the hooligans. The college students and youth in particular are resorting to eve-teasing in these areas. The most vulnerable areas are the multiplexes and shopping malls in the heart of the city where the Wi-Fi facility is available. Also some isolated streets with less vehicular traffic are chosen by the mischievous youth to gang up and make these roads unsafe for the passage of women and girls.

To give better access to information, the state government started these free Wi–Fi hotspots in busy areas. Anyone can access the Internet with a smart phone with just a simple verification of the mobile number. This facility actually comes handy for many to access information on the go. But over a period of time, the free hot spots also developed some black spots in the city as the hooligans started to gather.

The Ragavaiah Park lane and Bishop High School lane have become regular addas for the college bunkers and hooligans as these lanes are a bit quite and with less traffic. Even the high security zones like collector’s camp office road and state guest house road are also becoming stalking points. The heavy police presence on these roads has not become any deterrent to the stalkers. Youngsters can be seen on the other side of the footpaths browsing their smart phones. “Everyday, I have to pass by these bullies,” said T. Radha, who lives nearby and goes home by walk after getting off from the bus. “They make many comments, especially when they see me alone,” she added.

The multiplexes and shopping malls also are the most vulnerable places for women. Any given day, scores of youth can be seen at LEPL, PVP, PVR and other malls, just roaming around and passing comments on girls. The two-foot over-bridges on M G Road, one at PWD grounds and the other at NTR circle have also become browsing points for the youth. These bridges have become safe places for drug peddlers. I have seen people taking drugs on the bridge,” said A. Soujanya, a student.

Crime against women a cause for concern:

Woman safety is still a concern in the AP’s new capital. Crimes against woman are continuing to be on the rise in the city despite new initiatives by the police and stronger legislations in force. Apart from the domestic violence, the incidents of stalking, eve-teasing and harassment on social media are also increasing in number.

As many as 196 cases of outraging women’s modesty were reported in the city along with 181 other cases of harassment reported last year, according to National Crime Bureau records.
Also 11 dowry deaths were reported in the capital city last year. In all,  53 rape attempts and 35 cases of kidnap were also reported in the city during last year. Though the overall crime rate is partly on the lower side when compared to previous year, the statistics of crimes against women are still a worrying factor in the city.

Most of the crimes against the women are still going unnoticed as the victims are not coming forward to complain, especially in the cases of stalking and eve-teasing, said DCP (law and order) G. Palaraju. “We are keeping a tight vigil in the areas already identified and we will further increase it to ensure the safety of women,” he said.