In view of continued occurrence of eve-teasing incidents in various areas of Dehradun, the superintendent of police (SP), city, Shweta Choubey appealed to women to call the police immediately when any such incidents happen to them or nearby. Many teenage girls and women have stated that they have been harassed in the areas in the vicinity of Astley Hall, Chuna Bhatta and Engineers Enclave by men wandering on the roadside during late evenings and early mornings. “Whenever I walk home alone from the main road near Engineers Enclave, I observe several men staring at me and sometimes following me to the home while passing lewd comments. There is a police station near that area but there is hardly any police personnel to patrol the said location,” said a local resident, Tanisha Sharma.
Another woman, Upasana Singh from Sahastradhara Crossing stated that some men followed her when she went for a morning walk towards the Chuna Bhatta area. According to her, “I generally go for a walk on Sahastradhara Road but for the sake of change, I along with my sister, went for a morning walk towards Survey Chowk passing through the Chuna Bhatta area. We went four times for a walk through that area and every time somebody was either following us or passing derogatory comments on us. When my sister told my parents about the issue, they told us not to go to that area in the morning alone.” Many women also stated that such incidents happen more often during the time when there are very few people in an area. On the question of why these women do not approach authorities when such incidents happen, the teenage girls stated that most of the time their elders tell them to ignore it and even if they do complain, the police might contact their parents and they do not want them to be involved in such matters. On the other hand, women informed that by the time they think to approach the police, the offender would have probably fled the scene and police might probably ask them unnecessary questions. On being asked about this issue, Choubey stated that the police get complaints about such matters and actions are taken against the culprits. However, she added that she will look into the matter and check recent complaints of the various areas of the city and if needed, the police personnel will be deployed in such areas for extra vigilance. Choubey also encouraged women who face such harassment to dial the numbers 100 or 112 immediately to file complaints against the culprits. She also said that any girl or woman can file the complaint on the said numbers anonymously without revealing their own identity which will help police to locate the eve-teasers in the city.
