'Govt should give women freedom to punish molesters'

ldquoIf it had been in my capacity I would have killed himrdquo u00a0 this was the angry response of a young woman when asked how she felt when brought face to face with the man who had molested her on an earlymorning train on July 27 At the police station Sunita Gore name changed had the chance to mete out her own kind of justice to her assailant and they came in the form of a tirade of angry resounding slaps across the manrsquos face Gore says she felt a burning anger rise within her when she first laid eyes on Devraj Hanumant Kanapa at the police station after he was nabbed The man had brutally molested Gore in a local train that was moving between Mahalaxmi and Lower Parel stations at dawn on July 27 when she was on her way to Matunga Road for the dayrsquos work When the 24yearold woman confronted her attacker all the rage came flooding back and the slaps fell thick and fast on the manrsquos cheek and continued even as he pleaded with her A video obtained by MiD DAY shows the womanrsquos fury as she meets the molester ndash a fury that perhaps symbolises the collective outrage felt by women in a country where their safety is always at stake Video grabs obtained by MiD DAY show the molestation survivor repeatedly slapping the accused across his face at the police station Speaking about the incident almost a monthandahalf later Gore had some advice for the government ldquoThe state should give women the freedom to punish such culprits The law should be made strict or else the number of such crimes will not decrease It was very scary when I saw this man jumping onto the moving train at Mahalaxmi He then sat in front of me and made lewd gesturesrdquo she said Kanap allegedly asked her to sit next to him ldquoI told him to stay away threatening to call the police That is when he attacked me causing me to fall down near the door I tried to move but he bit me and tried to tear my clothes off I started bleeding badly He tried to push me off the train It was a nightmarerdquo she recalled Speaking to MiD DAY Gore said that she had been afraid for some days after the incident but later decided to fight the perpetrators of such crimes that cause others emotional and psychological duress ldquoMy office timings are still the same and I have to take the same train almost every day The only thing that has changed is that now my parents accompany me to my workplace and I can see the railway police inside the compartmentsrdquo said Gore who is a resident of Mahalaxmi Attack at dawn The incident took place within a month of Gorersquos foray into the professional world ndash she had joined a hospital in Mahim on July 15 and was on her way to her morning shift She boarded her regular train 541 am Borivalibound slow train from Mahalaxmi station As soon as she got into the compartment Kanapa entered having noticed that she was the lone passenger in the compartment An aggressive assault followed He passed vulgar comments pulled her towards him When she tried to push him off the man allegedly bit her and tried to push her out of the train Realising that the platform of Lower Parel station was approaching she started screaming desperately for help ldquoI cried for help as soon as I saw the platform Within moments passengers gathered and took the man into custodyrdquo she said The passengers then handed the man over to the Mumbai Central railway police ldquoIt is very sad that most women donrsquot come forward to fight such incidents There are only a few like the recent gang rape survivor who fight against the culprits The government should support us and punish such persons severely Seeing them others will think twice before committing such crimesrdquo said Gore She admitted that she is illatease about boarding the train on which she was attacked so brazenly ldquoI am not scared but somehow I donrsquot like to board the same 541 am train My mother or father drop me till Matunga station Also now I can see some policemen in the compartments but I know they will disappear in a few monthsrdquo added Gore adding ldquoWhy cant the policemen protect our coaches before such incidents take place Why do they appear only after the incident takes placerdquo The accused has been charged under section 354 molestation 323 assault and 307 attempt to murder Bansidhar Shirsat deputy commissioner of police GRP said ldquoThe accused is in Arthur Road jail We have tightened security in female coachesrdquou00a0