'Get in the car. I will take you': Woman shares eve-teasing incident in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Susmita Kandadai, co-founder and CEO of Pencil Bricks, took to Twitter to share a ghastly incident of eve teasing in Hyderabad that she faced. Thankfully, the Panjagutta police came to her rescue and registered her complaint.

According to Susmita, “On 22 April, I was waiting for a friend and chose to stand in front of the Punjagutta police station to feel safe until my friend arrived, who was 10 minutes away. It was 9 a.m.”

She recalled, “Two men approached me in a car. I quickly glanced at them. There was a bald guy and the other had a thick beard. I looked at my phone, hoping nothing would happen. The guy in the driver’s seat made eye contact.”

The man told Susmita in Telugu, “Get in the car. I will take you.” The other guy laughed and the two started making weird faces, she said. Susmita was furious but chose to say nothing and continued looking at her phone. “The men went ahead and came back quickly, and repeated the same thing. I screamed and asked them what their problem was, to which they replied ‘Give me your phone number and I will take you’,” she added.

She narrated the incident: “As I was standing right in front of the police station, I gathered some courage and said I was going to complain. And the two men in the car continued to say the same thing and asked me to go complain.”

Susmita ran to the station and found two traffic policemen and complained about the men. The officers immediately rushed out to check but by then, the two men had fled. They asked Susmita if she remember the car number, but she couldn’t.

“I felt very low. I was trembling with anger and fear. How could I not look at the car number; it would have been easy to catch them. I had tears in my eyes. The police noticed that and suggested I could still find the car number if I remember the timing of the incident and looked for the car in the CCTV footage. With a lot of hope and courage, I said yes, and they sent me to the police station to file a complaint,” Susmita wrote on Twitter.

“I was still trembling as I wrote the complaint on paper, explaining the details. I looked around and the police assured me not to worry, we are going to find them…,” she further wrote.

Miscreants found within hours

After almost an hour, Susmita identified the car in the CCTV footage and the police immediately called the owner of the car to the station. The owner’s friends were driving the car.

Meanwhile, the police told Susmita to come back when they caught the two men to identify them.

A few hours later, the Punjagutta police sent pictures of the two men who had harassed her. A case has been filed and the two men are being produced in court.

“As someone who is scared of the police, I am now starting to respect them for being calm and supportive. I know it is their job to protect people, and it is to be appreciated that they caught the harassers in no time. I am grateful,” she shared.

Missed carrying pepper spray

Following the incident, Susmita shared how she had forgotten to carry her pepper spray and wished she could have just walked towards the car and sprayed it in their faces as they lowered their windows.

“People around were of no help though it was a busy road. My close friends in the city did not help me. I did not want to call my parents as they would be worried and probably would say things like ‘Move on. Don’t get into all this. It is dangerous’,” Susmita said.

Here are some things that Susmita shared:

1. I decided to make a list for each city or place and think of who are the people who could help me when in danger.

2. I will always observe and note the vehicle number. Not every location will have a CCTV.

3. I will never miss carrying my pepper spray. It still gives me the courage and would be useful.

4. I will always file a complaint though it will be a long process and my day will go into that. I will do that. These miscreants need to be taught a lesson and they must think twice before harassing another woman.

5. I will always support women in need and offer help or get help in whatever way I can.