Victims of sexual assault accuse Gurugram cops of apathy

GURUGRAM: Questions were raised on the safety of Gurugram's women on Friday evening, after a woman professional returning home reportedly escaped a rape attempt at National Highway-8.

The incident took place around 7.30 pm, a time when heavy traffic is seen on the route where the incident occurred.

For a city where sexual assaults have become a major law challenge for citizens, there are now even allegations police personnel not filing or improperly filing FIR's in such cases.

In Friday's incident, the victim alleged she and her husband were made to run to different police stations to file the complaint.

Later, instead of an attempt of rape FIR, an FIR for snatching and robbery was filed.

A similar grievance was reported last week by a city-based blogger, who reported she was given threatening messages on her social media account. The district police, however, did not file a complaint as in the matter.

This year, the city has seen a sharp increase in crimes against women, which include molestation, stalking and physical assault.

Worryingly, this upward trend is seen not only on the streets, but also in the virtual world.

The number of complaints by women of sexual harassment on the internet has risen by over 40 per cent compared to last year.

In 2016, there were over 200 such cases registered by the Cyber Crime police. This year, the number has already crossed 330.

While this form of cyber crime is a new phenomenon, most criminals get emboldened by the fact there is still not a stricter law that enables law enforcement officials to penalise them. Moreover, digital media enables most such culprits to be anonymous.