Imagine a senior police officer becomes victim of crass harassment by several men during a special midnight operation in Hyderabad on the intervening night of Wednesday, May 6. What safety is there for common girls and women in the city?
The incident happened between 12 midnight and 3:30 am, when the Hyderabad IPS officer B Sumathi, who is serving as Commissioner of Malkajgiri Police Commissionerate, was conducting a plainclothes operation to assess the safety situation for women in the city late at night.
A group of men surrounded her and passed lewd remarks, including “Will you come?” and “How much is the rate?” comments that reduce any woman to an object of street-side solicitation.
Spotting the misbehaviour and possible molestation, the police team moved in and detained 40 individuals involved in the incident and the wider operation.
Detainees not from criminal background
To a great surprise, the preliminary investigations revealed that detainees had no criminal background. They all had decent background – largely students and salaried employees, a demographic from which such behaviour is least expected. Several among them were reportedly found to be under the influence of cannabis (ganja) at the time of their detention.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
