HYDERABAD: Students of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) alleged that SHE Teams are not responding to their complaints of sexual harassment.
The issue came to the fore again on Saturday when a video surfaced on Twitter in which a man, who appears to be police personnel, is seen masturbating near TISS girls hostel at Brahmanpally Crossroad, under the limits of Adibatla police.
However, it is not verified if the man in the video is police personnel.
The incident happened on October 20, 2019, at 3:18 pm. TISS students had sent the video to SHE Teams through WhatsApp but the police did not take any action, the students alleged.
The video went viral on Twitter on Saturday and a user tagged the police’s handle on the video. Police officers then went to the campus and invited the students to lodge a formal complaint. Based on which, Adibatla police filed a case under Section 354 D of IPC on Saturday.
When asked about the alleged inaction in the case, Adibatla inspector P Narender said, “It seems they posted the video on Twitter and certainly didn’t raise a complaint with us. There is no delay in any cases. SHE Teams and police are patrolling near the hostel.”
Responding to a question if the accused is police personnel, he said, “The complainant said ‘unknown’ person, and he could be a security guard or an RTC or civic body employee.”
In the video, the student recording the video, can be heard saying, “Whenever such incidents take place, we complain to the police to get protection. From whom do we seek protection now if they themselves are doing it? Whom should I go for help now? I noticed a guy and thought that he was peeing, but this guy was literally masturbating in front of me. When I looked at him, he didn’t stop. I took out the camera, he didn’t stop, he was masturbating looking at the camera.”
Later, the accused, who was wearing khaki pants, boots and khaki socks, can be seen escaping from the spot when the victim raised an alarm.TISS students said they face frequent sexual harassment.
“We complain to the police, but they moral police us instead of taking action,” said a student representative from TISS.