An angry woman barged into a press conference being addressed by Transport Minister M.R. Vijayabhaskar at the bus terminus in Koyambedu on Monday and alleged that some policemen had harassed her.
The officials present at the event, mediapersons and general public were taken aback as much as the Minister, when the visibly angry woman walked up close to the Minister and loudly shared her experience.
Radha (name changed), said to be a research scholar from Bengaluru, was in no mood to listen to the Minister’s assurance that action would be taken on her complaint, as she went about narrating the incident before turning to the cameras with her demand to take action against the “erring policemen.”
“Four to five policemen harassed me. They said they were questioning me on suspicion and humiliated me publicly. What wrong did I do to the extent that they were questioning me on suspicion,” the woman, who appeared in her late 20s, asked.
She charged that she had been lying down on the floor of the waiting room in Koyambedu terminus when a couple of policemen tapped her with a ‘lathi’ and went on to abuse her.
“I want to walk freely in this country.. Single women and children should be protected.. In the name of safety, they are torturing women. You cannot suspect every woman,” she said, venting out her ire.
Later, when reporters raised the issue, Mr. Vijayabhaskar said the police would inquire into the alleged incident. The Minister left the scene soon after. The Koyambedu Police has received a complaint from the woman and she has received a CSR.
The woman was alone when the incident is said to have happened in the early hours on Monday. It was only last week the State Human Rights Commission directed the Chennai Police Commissioner to conduct an inquiry into an incident in which it was alleged that policemen sexually harassed women protesters.
The Commissioner has ordered an inquiry, and pending that report, the two police persons who were reportedly involved in the ‘harassment case’ were shifted out of their posts without any further posting.
