KOZHIKODE: The police have registered a suo motu case in connection with the incident in which a man flashed and performed a lewd act in front of a woman in a moving KSRTC bus in Kozhikode. The woman was travelling from Kozhikode to Adivaram when the incident occurred.
A video, showing the man performing the act, caught by the woman in a mobile camera and later posted on Facebook, has been doing rounds on social media for the past two days.
The video shows the man who took the seat opposite her staring directly at the camera while performing the act. After this, the man is seen getting down at the next stop. The woman later posted the video on Facebook requesting others to make it viral and help identify the culprit. In her post, the woman said the man got down at Civil Station stop.
The accused has been charged under Sections 354A and 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Nadakkavu Station House Officer Ashraf T K, who is investigating the case, said they have intensified the search for the accused.
The shocking footage comes months after a stalker sexually assaulted a woman on a pocket road in the heart of the city during daytime. The incident was recorded on a CCTV camera installed at a house on the pocket road connecting YWCA Road with Mavoor Road.
Nadakkavu police arrested Jamsheer, a resident of Thoppayil here, after the video showing the man pouncing on the woman who fell on the road and fleeing the spot as raised an alarm, went viral.
The repeated incidents of attack and sexual aggression against women in public bring to the fore the question how safe is the city for women travelling alone.
Though the government and the police claim to have initiated steps to ensure greater safety for women, many measures turn out to be a mere eyewash as the ground reality contradicts the tall claims.