(This story was first published in The Times of India on Oct 13, 2020)

BENGALURU: In January 2019, Bellandur police arrested a 23-year-old software engineer for sexually harassing his woman colleague. He allegedly invited her to his apartment, where he made her drink a fruit juice laced with sedatives and attempted to sexually take advantage of the situation.
Two months later, a 42-year-old medicine distributor was arrested after he was thrashed by the family of a woman druggist in her Bapujinagar shop after he pressured her to sleep with him at least for a day. The same year, a transport department employee sexually harassed his junior staffer and the act was videographed by another colleague. He was immediately handed over to police along with the evidence.

The three cases were among 158 instances of sexual harassment of women reported during 2019 in Bengaluru. The city reported the thirdhighest number of cases in the country after Delhi (431) Delhi (532), Mumbai (331), Ghaziabad (172) and Kanpur (162).
Shift in probe pattern
Former DG and IGP Neelamani M Raju said there is a major shift in how police investigate cases of sexual harassment against women and this has instilled confidence in them to flag off any inappropriate behaviour.
“There is a standing order that sexual harassment cases should be investigated within a span of 60 days or two months from the date of filing the complaint. Police investigation skills should get updaand Mumbai (377).
In all the above cases, the sexually harassed women came forward to file a police complaint. “Women subjected to sexual harassment are showing more confidence and approaching police. They also show the same commitment till investigation reaches its logical end. This not only helps police build a strong case against the accused, but also deters potential sexual offenders,” police officers say.
Incidentally, Bengaluru had reported 155 cases of sexual harassment in 2018 and stood fifth in the country, after ted as time advances. In the age of cybercrimes, police should be well trained in tracking such criminals targeting women. Girls should be educated about their rights and legal options in connection to such harassments, at an young age. Unlike older times, women of this generation show more willingness to fight against their offenders,” Raju said.
Senior IPS officers Isha Pant and Rohini Sepat-Katoch, who had previously worked as deputy commissioners of police (DCPs) in Bengaluru and interacted with many women subjected to sexual harassment, said that psychologically, women show more consistency in pursuing cases.
“Consistency shown during probe helps us in filing a strong chargesheet, making securing of convictions easy,” said Isha.
Rohini said the stigma against going to police is waning. “Women, working professionals in particular, are aware of their rights now. This awareness should spread all over. We have a long way to go. But a positive trend has definitely begun,” she said.

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