A close friend as well as colleague (I don’t label her a victim but I call her a fighter!) of mine started receiving abusive text messages-SMS. Yes, in this era of Whatsapp! The text messages she got were far too abusive, vulgar and disturbing! She got more than 20 such messages everyday! The unknown number started asking her for sex with such deteriorating words that one can’t read the full text.
Like a normal woman, she blocked this number. Though as per her handset make, SMS from blocked numbers were saved in a spam folder. Which kept on growing everyday with new abuses and threats. Being her friend, I supported her and told her to stay strong. I kept on reading spam folder to find out development. I realised that the stranger had started threatening to morph her pictures and post it in our college (we work as professor in an esteemed engineering institute). Also he threatened to kidnap her and sell her to a brothel and this and that! Lots of abuse, vulgarity, cruelty and distress! She, being a single mother, felt targeted and insecure.
I feared irreparable loss and felt the urge to involve police. Initially all our friends and family members were against it, stating that she must change her number instead. Like usual image of police, they advised that nothing will happen on complaining to the police. But I didn’t want to put her and her daughter in more danger and trauma. So I forced her to involve police. Yes I FORCED her!
The response of police was pathetic as expected. They started asking humiliating questions as if this was our fault! They even tried pointing blame on her character. Police repeatedly said that some known person was doing this. But we knew the language of those text messages and any educated civilized person with working brain can never send such messages-we knew! We insisted police to register the complaint. We gave them all printouts of messages as well as truecaller details of the number that said it was blocked by 70+ users( imagine!). Truecaller pointed out the location of the caller as Rajasthan. To supreme shock, the policeman we approached for complaint, laughed at us, stating psycho seems to be from Rajasthan and there is no way we can go there to catch him! I furiously asked-is Rajasthan outside India? Nothing worked!
We spent everyday( every working day) 3–4 hours at police station! I worked out few of my contacts. One of my important contact working in NGO(Shree Gitaben Shroff) pushed police to register FIR immediately. FIR was done but nothing worked out. The saddest part was after FIR every newspaper published a story from wrong side- stating a single mother/divorcee lady this and that! She suffered through misreporting of media. I felt shit as I had forced her to complain. We still visited 3–4 hours every other day to police station to find out progress as the messages were being more insane and threatening.
It was her(my friend’s) birthday when the psycho stranger crossed all limits of vulgarity and harassment with flood of texts and calls on college landline number! I was angry on self, feeling she was going through this misery as I denied her to change number and fight!
It was Diwali time, we had decided too take complaint back after Diwali if nothing happened meanwhile.
After Diwali nothing changed! The threats, abuse through messages continued with the same level of insanity. And one day the psycho started hurling abuses and threats to harm her(my friend’s) daughter’s name. She cried her heart out loud. I didn’t stop her. In anger and hopelessness, I did something. I tweeted the issue mentioning Smriti Iraniji, Anandiben Patel and Narendra Modiji.
Through police progress and call records we came to know that same person was abusing and harrasing more than 50 girls/women across Gujarat! Majority of victims were teachers/professors! I stated that in my tweet.
Surprisingly, Smriti iraniji replied promptly as well as our CM Anandiben Patel! I passed on details to them. To my surprise their PAs called up and informed us about current progress of case in few minutes and assured that by end of the day we will get good news!
And-
Yes! Within less than 2 hours of the tweet, he was caught! The police officers working on our case got help from ministers and they could proceed fast.
The psycho was chasing women/girls from college website details. And used to get their personal numbers and details from school/college office by formal calls.
He was an ITI guy, married and had a poor family background.
He was brought to our city and we went to meet him! He cried, asked for mercy. But what he did with my friend and 50+ other ladies was a crime, inhuman crime! ( from all victims-a school girl is in depression, a 21 year old government teacher is about to get divorce, more than 20 victims stopped using mobile and social media and list goes on!) I could not control uttering worst possible swear words to him, reminding him of all dirt he wrote in those messages.
He is behind bars since then. As Government is involved , Police has taken care of making strong case. He has not even received bail. Police has recorded complaints from all 50+ victim ladies across Gujarat. Soon the hearings shall start in court. We are determined to fight till end to set an example.
We are happy that we fought for our dignity! My friend’s confidence has increased
CM Anandiben Patel called us to discuss case , admired and congratulated us saying- from more than 50 victims no one complained. You both set an example and hence saved all who were suffering and also those who would have been target victims in future.
This is the story of Bhumika Desai Shah and her friend whose name is also Bhumika. She shared this experience of her on Quora for the answer ‘What’s the bravest thing you have ever done?‘.
Bhumika what you did for your friend was truly brave. Most of us don’t have the courage to do when things come to our own self but you stood for your friend no matter how bad things were getting. What if like others you also suggested her to change the number many other girls/women would have been the victim to what this psychopath was doing to already so many girls.
That’s the kind of friends and the spirit to fight the perpetrator we all want to have. Kudos to you girl!
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