Juhu resident Vasundhara Singh goes for her evening run to the beach every day. But Thursday changed the fresh air into one of terror for her. While she was jogging as usual, a man unknown to her approached her and hit her hard across the face. The forceful whack sent her reeling to the ground.
The totally unbidden assault left Singh stunned and bemused, but she was in control of her senses enough to approach the Juhu police.u00a0
The police officers made her wait, she claimed, for 5-6 minutes and then told her that they were occupied. To file her complaint, she would have to go to Santacruz police station, they told her, which is 10 minutes away by road.
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“I did not have my phone with me, or any money to go to Santarcuz, so I walked back home in tears at how helpless a woman can be made to feel in today’s world,” Singh said. “If a police officer is throwing his hands up and saying he can’t do anything to help, whom do we turn to? In light of all the outrage over crimes against women gripping the country right now, you would imagine that the cops would make an effort to do something, anything. But they just did not care,” she told MiD DAY.
Singh was later accompanied by a friend to Santacruz police station where she filed a complaint against her assailant as well as “the cops who refused to help me”, she said. “I’m not sure what will come of this but I ask that if any woman is attacked, please make the effort to file a complaint. Yesterday it was a slap, tomorrow it could be acid or a knife or anything,” she added.
“Where does this leave me? Do I continue to run with the hope that nothing will happen again? Do I have to now carry a weapon while I run? Do I change my running route, or do I stop running altogether so I can be safe?” Singh asked.
Senior inspector of Santacruz police station Arun Chavan said, “Vasundhara Singh filed her complaint on Thursday around 8.15 pm after an unidentified man slapped her. We are in search of that man, and will take relevant action. This is the first time I have received a case where a woman is saying she has no enemies who could have done this.”
Vishwas Nangre Patil, additional commissioner of police (West region) said, “Policemen are expected to provide all assistance to anybody in distress. One of the two constables should have accompanied the woman and tried nabbing her attacker. We have intensified police patrolling at all places frequented by women. I will make an inquiry into the matter. Appropriate action will be taken against the cops, if they are found guilty.”u00a0
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