12 August,2016 10:20 AM IST | | Vinod Kumar Menon
Woman who filed cyber harassment complaint alleges that instead of helping her catch the culprit, the cops were cooking up stories about the case for publicity
She has already spent eight years fighting a high-profile case of sexual harassment at the workplace, with no justice in sight. There was no way she was going to wait another eight years to get justice after she became the target of cyber harassment.
Eight months after she filed the cyber harassment case, the complainant has lost all faith in the police. Representation pic/Thinkstock
Frustrated with the slow pace of investigation and the evasive answers from the police, Alka Dixit (named changed to protect her identity) decided to do a little digging herself. But what she found out has completely robbed her of all faith in the state and its police.
Background
In 2007, Alka had sent shockwaves through the corporate world with her allegations of sexual harassment at financial giant, KPMG. Alka had alleged that attempts were being made to sabotage the case and distract her. Not only did all the case documents go missing while they were in the custody of the National women's Commission, but last November, Alka became the target of another form of harassment, after someone hacked into her Gmail and Facebook (â8 years after sexual harassment at work, MNC honcho now being cyber bullied', mid-day, November 28, 2015).
Nearly nine months have passed since she filed a case with the Cyber Police, but she is yet to get any proper answers. In fact, she had no clue about the investigation until she opened the papers one morning in March, and read an article in which the Cyber Police were proudly taking credit for having nabbed the accused from Rajasthan.
Heroes on paper
The cyber cops told the media that during their investigation, they had zeroed in on a suspect from Bikaner -- Mohit Kumar Marothi. The cops also stated that when they went to arrest Marothi, a mob of 200 locals tried to block their path, and they were also warned by a local police officer not to take Marothi to Mumbai, as it would create a law and order problem. The cops further claimed that a senior bureaucrat from the Rajasthan government had also intervened in the matter, but despite all the odds, the Cyber Police brought the accused to Mumbai and released him on bail on March 19, as per procedure.
This was all news to Alka, obviously. So, she went to the police station for more information. To her dismay, the police told her that even though she was the complainant, she had no right to seek information on the accused. Sensing that something was amiss, Alka filed an RTI application with the Bikaner Police, who replied on May 17, categorically stating that they were not aware of any law and order problem, and the Mumbai cops did not inform them about any trouble As evidence, the Bikaner cops also attached a copy of the station diary from the Nokha police station, showing records of the visit of API Ramesh Gaud with his colleagues from Cyber Police from March 11 to 14.
Furthermore, the Bikaner police clearly stated that after the accused's lawyer pointed out that it was a bailable offence, the Mumbai team agreed and simply handed him a notice asking him to be present in Mumbai on March 19.
"Eight months after registering the complaint, such quality of investigation doesn't espouse any confidence in the investigating agency," said Alka.
"When faced with any crime, the remedy is to approach the police and the women's Commission. But if the complainant's case files are lost while in the custody of the women's commission, and if the police's investigation is such, then what relief can an aggrieved citizen expect? Is my fight against the perpetrator of the crime or against the State?" she asked.
