NCW pulls up Telangana cops for inaction in TISS students’ complaint

Hyderabad: The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken serious note of the complaint filed by the students of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Hyderabad against an alleged Telangana cop caught misbehaving. Taking cognizance of their complaint, where the man was found masturbating near the TISS girls’ hostel, the NCW took to Twitter and said, “It is unfortunate to learn that even after the girl sent the complaint to SHE Team (Rachakonda), the matter was not taken up. #NCW have taken serious note about the reported police inaction, and written to the concern authority.”

Earlier in October, the student from TISS had complained that the man was masturbating outside the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) girls hostel in broad-day light, and the students had identified him as cop. The incident however re-surfaced on January 31, following a video posted on Twitter.

The students had also alleged that the SHE-Team Rachakonda did not respond to their complaint, even as four months passed after the incident.

Reacting to NCW’s tweet, the TISS student who witnessed the incident told NewsMeter, “I’m glad that the National Commission for Women has taken up the case. But rather than just tweeting or discussing, let’s get action-oriented. I know it’s quite a process to address these issues, but we need more strong sustainable actions to ensure our safety, which we deserve as human beings.”

Background

According to the students, the incident happened on October 20 when the student was walking towards a shop nearby from the girls’ hostel (located outside the TISS campus in Turkayamjal) at around 3 pm. They spotted the man masturbating, while looking at the student. Speaking to NewsMeter, a friend of the student who witnessed the incident said, “He was masturbating while he looked at us. While she recorded the act, he continued doing it, looking at the camera. It was only after she shouted the name of a friend, that he left the spot. Although he was not in complete uniform, we could see that he wore the Khaki pants and shoes, similar to what policemen wear.”

Meanwhile, a case had been registered under Adibatla police station and investigation is underway. “Our teams are working on the case. We haven’t finalised the identity of the person in question,” said a police officer under Adibatla PS.