Telangana cop caught masturbating outside TISS girls hostel?

Hyderabad: A man was caught on camera� masturbating outside the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) girls hostel in broad-day light, and� the students have identified him as cop.

The incident which occurred on October 20, 2019 , however re-surfaced on January 31, following a video posted on Twitter . According to the students, �at around 3 pm, when a student was �walking towards a shop nearby from the girls’ hostel (located outside the TISS campus in Turkayamjal)they spotted the man masturbating.

Speaking to NewsMeter, a friend of the student who witnessed the incident said, “ He was masturbating while he looked at us . While ahe 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.” She further added that his bike also did not have a number plate, which made it difficult to trace the harasser.

Students complain of no police action

The students allege that the SHE-Team, did not respond to their complaint, even as four months passed after the incident."The reaction of the SHE Team to this incident has been luke-warm. I had called the Ibrahimpatnam SHE Team, who had given us their number in case of any issue/grievance. I sent them all the details with the video, but there has been no response till now," added the student.

Another incident of sexual harassment that occurred outside the TISS hostel last semester also allegedly received cold response from the police. Kavitha (name changed) a student narrated, “It was 8 pm,and I was on my way to the girls hostel, when a biker caught me off guard and held my hand. He pushed me on the grass and asked for a kiss. There was not a single street light and the bike had no number plate. I shouted but received no response, meanwhile he escaped. The incident was brought to the notice of the police who did not react due to lack of evidence," said Kavitha . The students further complained of zilch help provided by the administration since the hostel is run by a private entity.

There is a rising concern among TISS students on what can be done when the police itself turns out to be the trouble-maker. “Whenever such incidents happen, our instinct is to go and complain to the police and get their service, or get protection from them. But this is like we have no hope. Who should I go to for my complaint? Nobody even responds,” added the student.

Bhagyasree, president of TISS Students’ Union is of the opinion that the area is notorious for sexual harassers. “There is considerable amount of distance between the campus and the girls’ hostel. Many students had faced similar issues for a long time. Yesterday, we had a meeting with Commissioner of Police- Rachakonda Mahesh Bhagwat , who said that he will ensure ample patrolling."

Meanwhile, a case has been registered under Adibatla police station. Further investigation is underway, according to the police.