Hyderabad: Despite the existence of strict laws against harassment, jilted men continue to post defamatory content against their lovers on social media platforms. She Teams booked at least three men every week in the month of August for stalking and harassment.
D. Kavitha, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (She Teams), says, “Women who sense trouble avoid such men and start ignoring them, which ignites outrage within the men who cannot take no for an answer. This prompts them to go any extent to harm the woman. Such actions can leave scars on women’s personal and social lives. There has been a rise in the incidence of such offences in the city.”
Last week, a man was nabbed by the She Team Police for creating a fake Facebook profile of a girl who had left him and using the profile to brand her as a call girl.
Swathi Lakra, the Additional Commissioner of Police (Crimes and SIT), says “In August, a lady who was working as a researcher at a reputed software company lodged a complaint against her colleague for harassing, stalking, and torturing her and using foul language after she declined his proposal. He was operating several fake accounts and impersonating people online to post hateful and immodest things about her on public forums. He was also stalking her. The victim approached the local police, who issued him a warning. After laying low for a while, he resumed his actions. He began defaming her among her friends and posted abusive comments about her. This is one among several such cases reported in the city.”
According to the figures available with the Cyber Crime Cell, the number of such cases reported so far in 2017 represents a three year high.
The Cell registered 16 cases under Sections 354 C, for watching, or capturing an image of a woman engaging in a private act, and 354 D, for using the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication to commit the offence of stalking, of the IPC in the first four months of this year alone.
Victims contact She Team officials via their emergency helpline, or the police by dialling 100, after which they are redirected to the relevant departments. She Teams, upon identifying offenders, hand them over to the concerned police stations or the Cyber Crime Cell, depending on the offence, for further action to be taken.
Most culprits are educated
Men who are charged with the commission of crimes against women are often well educated and acquainted with their victims. Though many women muster the courage to lodge complaints, a large number are forced to bear the harassment out of fear.
Dr Purnima Nagaraja, a psychiatrist, says, “When you like someone, you tend to think that they belong to you. Excessive possessiveness can make a person a control freak. Usually, this causes a relationship to end, but the possessiveness continues. The man feels disappointed and irked when a woman ignores him, and starts threatening her.”
She adds that even in relationships without any violence or restrictions, rejection is usually not taken lightly by men, and in some cases, women as well.
When a woman rejects a man’s proposal it becomes a matter of prestige for him. The man either ends up harming himself or the woman. “I once had a patient who wasrejected jilted by a woman. After repeated attempts at getting back with her, he uploaded obscene pictures of her on social media and was arrested. Once a relationship ends, it is very important for one to move on,” she says.
A senior official says that nearly 90 per cent of women who face harassment do not report it. They fear that their parents will not allow them to work or socialise, or that it will lead to embarrassment for the family. “No matter who ends the relationship, it is always the girl who is at a loss,” adds the official.
