Delhi Police announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000  for a 20-year-old Sikh girl Jasleen Kaur, a final year English literature student. The girl had posted photograph of a youth who passed vulgar remarks against her on the social media, leading the police to register a case against him on Monday (August 24).

On Sunday (August 23), a girl on a scooty was harassed by a man in a traffic signal in Tilak Nagar, Delhi.Instead of succumbing to the incident, the girl took photos of him and his bike.

For Jasleen Kaur, the audacity and the inaction of the people around her that upset her rather than his obscene comments that triggered her to share her story online, and shame the offender.

Kaur has lodged a police complaint against the accused along with his photograph and bike number. The accused has been arrested by Delhi police.She said, “I don’t want the youth to waste his four to five years behind bars, but to realise his mistake and regret his action. Every now and then, we witness such incidents in full public view but nobody takes pains to curb it.”

About three months ago, she had faced similar comments when she had stood up to the sexual harassment by two youths.

“Are boys asked at home about their conduct in public the way girls are asked about the day spent outside?” she wondered.
Jasleen’s mother Gurpreet Kaur, a school teacher, is worried. “The hype on the news channels will soon die down. What if someone gets vindictive and harms my daughter?”

She was left in anguish after her mother said pursuing the case would not lead to anything. As her father asked her to reduce her outings, she became agitated, went to her room and posted the photograph on Facebook.

While such bold acts of standing up against what needs to be curbed encourages other women, support from the Delhi police at such scale proves beneficial for the ongoing battle against women atrocities.

(with agency inputs)

By Sree Teja