The Mumbai Police on Saturday once again reached out to a comedienne who accused comic Utsav Chakraborty of sexual harassment, stating that they could not take action in the absence of a formal complaint.
The woman, a writer, comic and performer, had set off a social media storm on Thursday after putting out a series of tweets alleging that Mr. Chakraborty had sent her lewd messages. Several other women had then responded by recalling their own experiences of sexual assaults and violence calling out other men who had allegedly targetted them.
On Saturday morning, the police, through their official Twitter handle, tweeted to the woman, saying, “We have been waiting to hear from you since last two days. Please understand that till the time you lodge a complaint, we cannot initiate legal action. Request you to do the same or reply to us on DM to let us know if you need any assistance.”
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Later in the day, the comedienne tweeted saying that she was undergoing “intense emotional trauma” and that she was going to stay away for a while. She also “Media and cops, please stop pressuring me... Please leave me alone for a while. Don’t punish me for telling truth,” she said.
The police replied to her tweet saying, “You seem to have completely misunderstood our intention ma’am. It is our responsibility to encourage survivors to file a complaint because that is best first step to justice.”