26-year old Purnima Behl had gone to Bandstand for a jog. At 10.30 p.m., she was resting on one of the benches, speaking to somebody over the phone, when the two Haryana-based boxers began to harass her. “I regularly jog at Bandstand. On Thursday night, after I had finished jogging, I was sitting on a bench, talking to my family on the phone. One guy approached me and asked if I needed any help. He continued to ask me my name and why I was so busy on the phone,” she told Mid-Day.
She also added that after a few minutes, another man came and sat close to her, asking her what her ‘price’ was if they wanted to spend the night with her.
That’s when Behl got angry and started yelling at them. But what surprised the Jammu girl was that none of the people around – joggers, walkers and families – came over to help her.
After her yelling started to gain some attention, the two men decided to run away and got into an auto rickshaw. While most women would have let the matter end there, Purnima hailed another auto rickshaw and followed them.
“Their auto was just going to pass a nakabandi (on Hill Road), when I got down from my auto, ran towards them and informed the cops. The accused told me that it was a small incident and that I should give them another chance and let them go free. But I was adamant on filing an FIR,” Behl told Mid-Day. Despite managing to get them both to Bandra police station, one of them still escaped.
The other one was charged with intentions to outrage a woman’s modesty (sections 509 and section 34 of IPC) and got bailed out the next day.
Although Purnima is disappointed with the apathy of the bystanders, she hopes more women will come forward and stand up against the men harassing them.
“I want all women to fight against such people. Such incidents are on the rise, in Mumbai. I appeal to people to come forward and help women in need. In my case, I was shocked when no one helped. I was afraid, but if I had left them, they would have been encouraged to do it again,” she said.
Image Courtesy: Facebook/Purnima Behl
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