Mumbai: A college student has expressed her gratitude to the Mumbai Police for pursuing a sexual harassment case that she thought had gone off the radar.
As per an NDTV report, five months ago, the student had reported to the police that a man sexually harassed her while she was walking at a public place near her home. She said the incident was traumatic and screamed for help, after which the man ran away.
Now in a letter that she wrote to the Mumbai Police, thanking them for catching the man, the girl recalled how the officers at Gamdevi Police Station made sure she was comfortable enough to speak and took down a report although she could not provide a whole lot of relevant information, or describe the person too well.
According to the letter, they had also sent out patrol cars to find the man in case he was still in the area, but didn't succeed.
The student had even lost hope considering how vague the information she could provide at that time was.
"Months of follow-up, and being asked to identify blurry CCTV footage. I was afraid that I had forgotten what the man looked like and nothing would ever come out of all of this. Today, almost five months after the incident, I was contacted by Sandip Mane of Gamdevi Police Station with pictures of the same man. He was sure that he was the right person, and when I saw him, it clicked," she wrote.
"I had given up, but the folks at Gamdevi Police Station had not. I am forever grateful to Mumbai Police for all of their efforts, and how receptive they were to my complaint, how diligent they were with the follow-up, and how they did not stop until they found the person," the student said.
"If you ever find yourself hesitant to report a similar incident, or wonder if it even makes sense to go to the police with it, I encourage you to do so. You can't expect immediate results, but you can expect relentless and consistent efforts that will make you feel safer, and more confident the next time you step out alone," she said.
The police arrested the man on October 6, after searching him for 100 days. A charge sheet was filed against him within 24 hours of the arrest and he was taken to a local court.
The court gave its verdict after two days of trial.
Based on the testimony of the student, which was cross-examined thoroughly; the CCTV footage of the area, and the solid work of the officer in charge of the investigation, the man was convicted and sentenced to six months in jail and fined ₹ 500, the police said.