The murder of a Delhi University student in the capital city in broad daylight by her alleged stalker has brought the debate around the issue of women's safety back into the spotlight. Expert advice on what to do if you find yourself in the grips of a stalker
The murder of a Delhi University student in the capital city in broad daylight by her alleged stalker has brought the debate around the issue of women's safety back into the spotlight. Expert advice on what to do if you find yourself in the grips of a stalker
The recent murder of 20-year-old student Radhika Tanwar in Delhi by her alleged stalker has once again brought into focus how tenuous our notion of 'safety' is. This case coupled with the arrest of pop star Madonna's stalker over the weekend has helped only further highlight the issue.
Stalking, incidentally, finds no mention in the Indian Penal Code, and there are therefore no specific laws against it. According to lawyer Flavia Agnes, "Stalking is considered the same as eve-teasing, and the laws against eve-teasing are applicable for stalking as well."
Agnes advises filing a formal complaint against the stalker, which she says will be typically followed up with a call by the police to the stalker to intimidate him. In certain cases, the cops might put the alleged stalker behind bars for a day. "The important thing is to report the stalker. People tend to take stalking lightly or worry about family prestige before filing a complaint, which they shouldn't do," she says.
Lawyer Mrinalini Deshmukh says that when a complaint is lodged the stalker can be booked under harassment or for 'outraging the modesty of a woman'. "Once an FIR is lodged and a case is presented before a magistrate, an arrest can be made, depending upon the case," elaborates Deshmukh.
The cops, however, may not always be helpful, feels Hasina Khan, an activist from Awaaz-e-Niswan, an NGO working for women's issues. "We have had a few cases where women were being stalked by people known to them. Complaints are registered, but several times the cops take these complaints lightly," says Khan.
Cyber stalkers
Besides physical stalking, cyber stalking has also become common, especially with personal information becoming easily accessible on the net. "There are no cyber stalking laws and dealing with cyber crime is still in its nascent stages," says Deshmukh. Digging up personal information about a person, getting to a place before they are expected and/ or constantly sending smses or making calls to the person are all forms of stalking.
"A client of mine had a stalker who would regularly wait for her before she got to her workplace," says psychiatrist Anjali Chhabria. Fear, humiliation, self-doubt, confusion, even paranoia are some of what the person being stalked experiences, according to Chhabria.
"Some people [even] start to doubt whether they are actually seeing the person or imagining them," she says, adding, "The thing to do is to confide in family, friends and colleagues, and then report it to the cops."
A jilted lover, someone seeking vengeance or a person suffering from a mental disorder, anyone could turn into a stalker. The important thing is that if you think you are being followed to not take it lightly, and alert the people close to you, as well as the cops.
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