The incident of four persons harassing a woman passenger in a city bus and thrashing other passengers who tried to resist them on Tuesday has brought into focus the inefficiency of the police despite the top brass giving assurance of ensuring full-proof security for the woman passengers commuting in the public transport in the city.
Though police arrested the four miscreants who threw lewd comments on the woman passenger and sent them to jail, the incident has spawned many questions. Sometime ago, the senior police officers had said that women police personnel in plain dresses would be deployed in the city buses to avoid incidents of eve teasing in the running buses.
Besides, it was decided that the city patrol unit (CPU) personnel would be tasked with stopping such incidents through their effective presence on the roads.
However, what happened on Tuesday has made it clear that the women passengers in the public transport are as vulnerable as ever with police machinery having failed to instill a fear of the law in the miscreants who are turning more and more desperate day by passing day.
The quartet identified as Suraj Patwal, Ranjay Rawat, Krishan Negi and Ankit Negi, all residents of Kotdwar, had allegedly attempted to molest a woman at Aaraghar T Junction in a bus plying on route number 2 from Nawada to D l Road. Some passengers resisted their acts following which the miscreants abused and thrashed them.
Things would have turned grimmer had not the driver stopped the bus near the Araghar police post, said the passengers of the bus.
Based on a complainant, a case under sections 354/323/504/506 of IPC was registered against the accused in Aaraghar police post. The accused were sent to Suddhowala Jail after being produced in the court, said a Dalanwala police station officer.
Recently, Additional Director General of Police (law and order), Ashok Kumar, directed police officers to take measures to prevent eve-teasing in public transport.
Moreover, he had asked the CPU personnel to conduct checking drives of the public transport vehicles randomly from time to time to check incidents of eve- teasing in the city. However, nothing has happened as the women passengers commuting on the public transport continue to be victims of the miscreants as shown by Tuesday’s incident that happened in the heart of the city.