16 November,2016 02:23 PM IST | | Vijay Kumar Yadav
She was returning home at 3 am, when two men who claimed to be policemen in plain clothes inappropriately questioned her; Mumbai police claims the men were likely impostors
A woman living in Vile Parle had a late-night scare after she was allegedly harassed by two patrolling policemen, as she was returning home at 3 am. After the frightening experience, she took on the Mumbai Police on Twitter. The cops launched an inquiry into the incident, but claimed that the men who harassed her were more likely impostors posing as police.
The woman, who goes by name Gigi Garcia with the twitter handle @mycrotchetyluv, put up several posts about the encounter in the wee hours of Tuesday, as she got out of a rickshaw near her residence in Vile Parle.
She went to pet a dog at a neighbouring building when she saw two men on a motorcycle riding in her direction. One of them was holding a torch, and as the two men looked her up and down, she grew uncomfortable and decided to go home.
Inappropriate questions
On reaching the gate, she asked them what they wanted. The men claimed they were policemen in plainclothes and started asking her inappropriate questions - where do you live, who else is there at home, why are you out so late, what were you doing outside the other building? This angered the woman, who asked them to disclose their names, rank and badge numbers. However, the duo kept refusing and finally left, but not before abusing her.
"People will say it's not a big deal, they're there to help. But for anyone who's listening, it's not help, it's bullying, scaring, and for women it's terrorising (sic)," she later tweeted.
She tagged the Mumbai police in her tweets as well: "I'm curious if this is the training @MumbaiPolice gives their "plainclothes" men. To bully and scare women because it's 3 am. When male officers (without badges) demand women to tell them their addresses at 3 am, is this not harassment? The police are meant to protect us, not turn our generally safe neighborhoods into possible assault zones."
Police respond
Within hours, Mumbai Police got in touch with her and assured her they were investigating the incident, claming the men were more likely impostors.
Mumbai police spokesperson DCP Ashok Dudhe said, "We got in contact with the woman and heard her out. She claims they were cops, but preliminary inquiry does not corroborate it. We are inquiring whether it was the handiwork of any local anti-social elements impersonating the police."
