BENGALURU: A woman has alleged that she was sexually harassed while waiting for a cab in Bengaluru’s Ramamurthy Nagar and has urged the Bengaluru Police to take action after sharing a video of the incident on social media.According to the woman, the incident took place while she was waiting for her cab when a man riding a scooter approached her and allegedly asked, “What’s your rate?” She alleged that the remark was accompanied by intimidating comments.Sharing her account on social media, the woman said she should be able to wait for a cab without being treated like an object or being propositioned for money.“As a woman, I should be able to wait for my cab without being treated like an object or being propositioned for money. His words were intimidating, disrespectful, and made me fear for my safety,” she wrote.The woman alleged that she started recording the incident on her mobile phone, after which the accused noticed he was being filmed, allegedly abused her and fled the spot.She also shared the registration number of the scooter allegedly involved—KA03 KQ6190—and appealed to the authorities to identify the accused and take appropriate action.In her post, the woman said such behaviour should not be normalised and urged people to speak up against harassment in public places.“Silence only emboldens offenders. Public spaces must be safe and respectful for everyone,” she wrote while appealing for action against the accused.According to the deputy commissioner of police (east Bengaluru), an FIR has been registered at the Ramamurthynagar Police Station, and the accused has been arrested.Earlier this month, the Davangere Women Police in Karnataka’s Davangere district registered an FIR against a local gym owner for allegedly blackmailing and repeatedly sexually assaulting a 30-year-old housewife.According to the police report, the complainant said she had been attending the gym near Durgambika School in Nituvalli for the past one and a half years and accused the owner-cum-trainer of sexually exploiting women members, secretly recording private moments and blackmailing victims using photos and videos.The accused allegedly recorded nude videos and photographs of the victim without her consent inside the gym’s changing room.The complainant alleged that over the past three to four months, he repeatedly threatened her with the recordings while demanding sexual favours.He also allegedly threatened to leak the videos on social media to tarnish her reputation and that of her husband, a local professor. Fearing social stigma, the victim initially did not report the matter.(With inputs from ANI)
