Mumbai unsafe for molesters - a special report

Mumbai - Saturday, January 30, 2010
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'It is no longer possible to walk on the streets without coming across a woman dressed in jeans and modern clothing', says Lalla, head of the youth wing of the local Molesters union, Juhu.

'And when we actually do something about it, we get shouted at, arrested, interrogated. All for what? There are some days when I feel like quitting. The joy of my work seems to have disappeared', adds a visibly dejected Lalla.

He is not alone. Molesters all over Mumbai are up in arms. 'It all started with the New year's eve incident', Lalla recalls. He is referring to the ugly incident on Dec 31, 2009, when two women escalated a relatively simple molestation case to the police. 'To all those who think this is fair, I ask a simple question', he adds, 'Was this rape? I agree that they are from abroad and do not know that this is how things work here. But after I explained the circumstances, they should have revoked their complaint.'

The women's audacious move has come in for widespread criticism in various circles, including the police department itself. 'As if we don't have enough cases already', sighs an overworked woman cop in Juhu.

While this is brewing in Juhu, a parallel extremist 'women's lib' movement has raised its head in Dadar and has actually come out openly in support of the two women complainants. The members hurl abuses at the molesters in the streets and sometimes even stone them. 'I find their language and tone very offensive. Is this really the educated 'liberal' young woman who is going to lead the country into the future? It's natural for the receiver herself to be sore after the incident, but what are these other girls yelling about?' Lalla fumes.

'And the police seems to be turning a blind eye to these violent ladies. They have done nothing to protect us. It is sad that a city which was once known as the safe haven for molesters all over is going down this dangerous path' warns Lalla.

The statistics are there for all to see. A Mumbai Molester on an average gets stoned every 3 days, and verbally abused every 45 minutes. While the downward trend itself is encouraging (These numbers were 1.5 days and 30 minutes in 2008, showing that the average Mumbaikar is now maturing to accept this as a part of Mumbai life), the numbers are still the worst across Indian metros, except Delhi. All that can be said at this point is that the judge on this case will have a lot on his mind when the matter comes up on Monday.

- Our special correspondent

PS: Apologies to 'the onion' for the shameless plagiarism.