'I Froze In Fear': Woman Recounts Harassment On Bengaluru Metro

A Bengaluru woman alleged sexual harassment during a metro ride, confronting the accused as police registered an NCR and issued a warning.

Bengaluru: A 25 year old woman has accused a fellow passenger of inappropriate touching and obscene behaviour while travelling on a Namma Metro train in central Bengaluru, prompting police to register a No Cognisable Report (NCR) in the matter. An NCR is filed in cases where immediate arrest is not required without court approval.

The incident took place on Tuesday aboard a metro train near the busy Majestic interchange, one of the city’s major transit points. Police said the accused, a 55 year old man identified as Mutappa, was allegedly under the influence of alcohol and repeatedly fell against the woman during the journey.

According to officials, the woman, who was returning home from work, confronted the man inside the train and later reported the incident to metro security staff. The complaint was subsequently forwarded to the police. Personnel at the Upparpet Police Station registered the NCR, called the man in for questioning, issued him a warning and later let him go.

In a video statement, the woman said her metro journey lasted around 15 minutes. She explained that she was initially seated between a man and a woman, but after the man next to her got down at his station, another passenger took the vacant seat following which the alleged incident occurred.

According to the woman, the man who replaced the earlier passenger sat uncomfortably close, leaving her wedged between two people. She said she initially tried to shift her position, believing the lack of space might be unintentional. However, she soon felt a hand pressed against her body in a way that made her uneasy.

“At first, I assumed it was accidental,” she said, adding that she attempted to move again, even though it meant making the woman seated on her other side uncomfortable. The situation, she said, did not stop there, as the man also placed his leg against hers.

“That’s when I realised this wasn’t a mistake. It was deliberate,” she said. “I froze. The moment it hit me that this was intentional, I felt extremely angry.”

She said that when her station arrived, she stood up, slapped the man and demanded that he move. She later realised that he was also getting down at the same station. On the platform, she slapped him again, describing how he alternated between crying, pleading and smiling while speaking in Kannada, a language she said she did not understand.

Recalling the incident, she said, “He was begging and crying after I slapped him, but he was smiling at the same time.”

Metro security personnel soon stepped in and escorted both of them. The woman said she insisted on filing a police complaint, after which the man was taken to the police station. There, she was told that he had allegedly been riding the metro continuously for nearly an hour without getting off at any station, raising suspicions that he was loitering on the trains. She was also informed that he was intoxicated.

The woman also expressed anger over what she claimed the police told her later. According to her, she was advised that in the future she should simply move away if she felt unsafe.

“How am I supposed to know someone sitting next to me is like this?” she said. “Do I have to ask every man I meet if he’s a predator?”