A United Kingdom-based woman has reached out to the Mumbai Police on Twitter, alleging a director with a popular Hindi teleseries sexually exploited her and is now blackmailing her.
Seeking help
The woman first put out a tweet on November 9 this year, tagging the television channel that the accused works for, the alleged harasser himself, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and the Mumbai Police, saying the accused is a ‘sexual abuser’.
She sent a second tweet on Wednesday, in which she said that the director “used and abused” her “for his sexual desires” and is now blackmailing her using her private pictures and videos.
Police responds
The Mumbai police responded to her tweet, asking her to send them her contact details as well as to suggest a good time for them to call her so that they could understand the situation better. The woman later tweeted her gratitude for their prompt response.
A senior police officer said, “As the law requires the victim herself to register a complaint, we will have to try and convince her to come and file a complaint.”
In cases like sexual harassment, molestation or rape, the victim’s statement has significant evidentiary value and is of paramount importance, which is why the police are unable to act suo motu in such cases.
“In any kind of an assault, including sexual assault, the person assaulted is in the best position to provide evidence, which is why the complainant cannot be from the police, as is done in other cases like murder or rioting,” the officer said.
The woman did not respond to The Hindu’ s attempts to reach out to her.
