In the first of a four-part series on problems faced by women living on their own in the city, MiD DAY does a sting to show how cops pose irksome questions instead of lodging a complaint when a woman reports a crime

After two gang rapes within a matter of days shocked the city this month, MiD DAY tried to find out how a lone woman fares when she has to lodge a police complaint in the city. Are the police sensitised enough towards crimes against women?

Do they take prompt and relevant action? Do they guide the victim properly on the law and her rights?

These questions become all the more important when the woman has nobody else to turn to in the city, should an untoward incident happen. And there are many women who come to the city to live on their own, from students to young working professionals, especially women employed in the IT sector.

Our 'complainant'
MiD DAY sent a 'complainant', Sonia Rodrigues, to police stations and chowkies posing as a lone woman in distress.

Her line was that she had just faced eve teasing from two men on a motor-cycle.

Our undercover agent visited two police stations and two police chowkies after midnight, and what she found was it was tough to get the police to even take down a complaint, forget acting on it with any sense of urgency.

Here is what we found where we went.

Deccan police station
(April 13, 1.40 am)
Report card: Least concerned, put complainant through a flood of questions

I entered the Deccan police station and approached a woman constable, R D Lande, and a male constable, S M Borawade. I told them I was waiting near Pizza Hut near Balgandharva Chowk when two youths riding a bike came over and teased me, passing vulgar remarks, before zooming away.

There was no sense of urgency on the constables' faces. They did not seem too serious about the fact that a woman had approached them in the wee hours and was seeking their help and protection.

Three constables asked me to narrate the incident three different times. They even suggested that I should have gone to the police chowkie at Balgandharva Chowk (though no complaint is registered at police chowkies).

Then began another round of questions. It was a flood of queries that was not exactly geared towards catching any culprits in such situations ufffd "Where are you from? What were you doing there?"
The attitude of the police was casual in the extreme.

Balgandharva police chowkie
(April 13, 2.20 am)
Report card: Good cop

I approached the Balgandharva police chowkie with the harassment complaint. The moment I entered, Constable N T Argade stood up. He heard my complaint, even stepped outdoors with me to see for himself the spot I was talking about. There was a sense of urgency in his response; but he directed me to the police station for a complaint.

Argade did not ask personal questions. He was more interested in knowing the details of the incident. He asked whether I remembered anything of the people who had troubled me or their vehicle number. He said he could transmit the number and the description of the two on the wireless so that the twou00a0 could be caught by police patrols.

Aundh police chowkie
(April 15, 12.15 am)
Report card: No sense of urgency or concern, more interested in advising the complainant to approachu00a0 a police station

There was only one constable, Maruti Gavde, at the chowkie. I told him I had been eve-teased by two people at Bremen Chowk.

Gavde started advising me that this was not the right time for girls to be out all by themselves, and asked me several questions ranging from my name and address to what I was doing at Bremen Chowk.

Gavade also said, "Chowkies serve only to guide people to the police station." As I was leaving, he told me he would inform the police station that I would be coming.

Aundh police station
(April 15, 12.40 am)
Report card: No coordination between chowkie and police station; casual attitude

Upon reaching the police station from the Aundh chowkie, I noticed there was no woman constable. I asked the policemen there whether Constable Gavde had informed them I would be coming, and they replied in the negative.
The policemen were busy writing something, and seemed least bothered that I was there with a complaint.
Finally, a policeman named S R Shirke came over and showed readiness to take down my complaint.

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