Mumbai: The man who was caught on camera masturbating at a woman in a Mumbai local train has been arrested and will be produced before a Mumbai court today. In a shocking incident of obscene gesture made to degrade a woman’s dignity, a man allegedly masturbated at a 22-year-old woman from Bengaluru on June 15. The incident came to the fore when the victim talked about her ordeal in a Facebook post. The woman had also alleged that the helpline official laughed at her when she dialed the number to seek help and action against the flasher. Taking a note of the woman’s ordeal in a Mumbai local, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu ordered an enquiry and assured strict action against the officer.
On June 15, the 22-year-old woman boarded a Dadar-bound local from Borivali. The woman was reportedly sitting in a woman’s compartment along with six other women. The ladies’ compartment was separated from the handicapped compartment by just a railing and the man was in the handicapped compartment. The woman first ignored him thinking him to be mentally challenged. The man waved at another woman, apparently to grab her attention. A while later, the man turned to face her and started masturbating.
Following the incident and after the 22-year-old woman’s Facebook post went viral on social media, the Government Railway Police (GRP) began their hunt to nab the man and filed a complaint in this regard.
FULL TEXT OF HER FACEBOOK POST
I’m sitting in the train, going back home after meeting friends who live in Borivali. I’m in the ladies compartment, there are about 6 other women. I’m sitting on the side that can see the handicapped section of the train, but with railings in between. On my left, there is another girl. We both are listening to music. In the handicapped section is a man. I’m looking at my phone and I see him waving at the girl through the railing. He’s put his hands through and has reached half the distance to the girl’s face. I cannot hear him, I’m wearing headphones.
I reduce the music, out of curiosity and also to see whether she needs help, I do not turn. Looking down at my phone, I hear him calling her m*******d. I heard it atleast 6 times in the 30 seconds I listened. I looked at him, our eyes met and I looked down again.
There are many mentally challenged people who travel on the train regularly and I’m used to many of them cursing, so I thought him to be one of them and let it go.
The split second where our eyes locked, he took the chance to come to me. He came to my side of the compartment and put his hands through just like he had done before.
He called me the same, another 6-10 times.
I looked up, and just kept looking at him for 20 seconds. Thinking of what I should do.
Meanwhile, he puts his hand down, whips out his penis and grins at me, he starts masturbating. For those who know me also know that I have seen this too many times. Maybe that prepared me to do what I tried next. I was rational, calm.
And I asked the other women to tell me the police helpline and also yelled that this man was showing me his privates.
They gave me the helpline. I had just run out of credit in the morning, so the girl he was waving at first gave me the phone. I called up the helpline.
The next paragraph is a summary of that conversation:
I told the person on the line all the details. The train was just approaching Kandivli. Which compartment, what time. All of it.
Then I told him that this person had also called us what he did. And then the person on the helpline laughed. He found it funny.
I asked him whether they’d pick this person up at Kandivli.
He cut the call.
I’m not sure what happened. When Kandivli came, the man got out of the compartment and started walking towards the doors of the ladies compartment. 6 women who could easily take him down, started yelling. I stood up and walked towards the door. He told me he would rape me. I told him to do it. (I only did so because I knew he wouldn’t and because the time permitted me , so did the space.)
Learnings :
1. Our helplines. Do they really help? Or is equality for women just a trend for marketing and PR?
2. Rape is supposed to scare me. Stop being scared by it. Stop making it a big deal. Somewhere there, it will stop.
Don’t take me wrong.
Rape IS a big deal. But physically, mentally for the pain it causes. not because the honor of this society lies in my vagina. Not because I will be SCARED by the prospect because my life will be ruined.
I once even called a suicide helpline that didn’t pick up. The irony.
