A gutsy 24-year-old city girl on a scooter on St. Mark’s Road, who decided to take on two men riding their bike rashly, was chased and assaulted. The men kicked her bike, causing her to fall and suffer a fracture on a finger in the left hand. Though all of this happened in broad daylight on a busy road on December 24, no one came forward to help or protect her, according to her complaint filed with the police.
Despite being shaken by the attack, the girl had the presence of mind and courage to take click pictures of the two men fleeing on their vehicle. The photographs clearly reveal the bike’s registration number.
What added to the girl’s ordeal was that though she had immediately gone to the Cubbon Park police station, an FIR was registered only on January 2 evening, more than a week after the incident.
The incident comes a as a major embarrassment for the city police force on a month dedicated for crime prevention with a focus on safety of women and children.
Speaking to The Hindu , Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Sandeep Patil said: has assured that “Action will be taken against the officials concerned, and we will make all efforts to trace the attackers immediately.”
Meanwhile, police sources said that they received the complaint on December 24 and sent constables to locate the men but did not find the address. They also said that the girl did not meet senior officials at the station. They said that the Cubbon Park police were busy with security cover for Christmas and New Year, and the bomb blast on Church Street.
'People watched, no one came forward to help'
It was meant to be a happy holiday season lunch with colleagues on the day before Christmas, but the situation changed when the 24-year-old girl was on her way to Queen’s Road on her scooter.
Narrating her ordeal to The Hindu , the girl said two men on a motorcycle cut her across and almost hit a security guard of a school located on the road perpendicular to St. Mark’s Road. “When I caught up with him, I told him to slow down. The men were not wearing helmets. They verbally abused me and attempted to punch me, after which we got into an argument. He came close to me, touched me inappropriately, pulled my earphones and threw it on my face,” she said.
Agitated and angry over the turn of events, she followed the duo as they entered St. Mark’s Road and began clicking pictures of the men on the motorcycle. She said that the man riding the motorcycle was annoyed when he saw that she was clicking their pictures. “He slowed down and waited for my vehicle to pass. He kicked the vehicle because of which I lost balance and fell on my left hand, resulting in a fracture on a finger,” she said.
On the same day, she filed a complaint at Cubbon Park police station and received the acknowledgment for the same. On December 27, when her father went to the police station seeking an update on the case, he was told that the motorcycle was registered at an address in Viveknagar and constables had found that the men did not live in that address and that they would have to request the Transport Department for help.
On January 2, when the girl again went to check on the case, a police officer told her that the FIR was not registered.
On Friday evening, after being informed about the girl’s plight, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Sandeep Patil said he personally went to the police station and the police had till then not filed an FIR. He added, “I will ensure that action is immediately initiated and the culprits are brought to book.”
Speaking to The Hindu , the girl said that two things about the incident left her disturbed. “There was nobody to help me when all this happened. Nobody even came to my rescue. Later, people in fact told me I should not have interfered and should have allowed the boys on the motorcycle to drive as they pleased,” she said.
