Our Special Correspondent
Thiruvananthapuram:Kerala could be proud of its creditable records in Human Development Index. But it is essential the state to deliberate on the increasing violence on women. According to police records more than physical, cyber-attacks on women are on the rise. According to a news report five out of every eight cyber complaints are lodged by women, but in not many cases the criminals are brought to justice, thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of the law enforcing agencies, and there are cases the victims resorted to extreme steps like committing suicide.
Recently such a heinous cybercrime was reported from Thiruvananthapuram the capitals city and administrative nerve center of the state. A photo of hapless women, the mother of a teenage single girl child, was found in an adult site having sexually explicit contents. Surprisingly, when the victim, residing in a village near to the capital city, approached the local SHO at Kattakada she was discouraged from lodging any complaint against the crime.
According to the victim, a 40 year old house wife, mother of a teenage school going daughter “On January 25, 2023, my photo and phone number was uploaded on a pornographic website by Fayaz who is a resident of my village and known to me from my school days. I came to know that my picture with personal details was posted in an obscene website when phone calls started coming asking for sexual favors. I filed a complaint with Cyber Cell of Thiruvananthapuram Police on January 31, 2023 and Kattakkada SHO on February 1, but the response was lukewarm.”
Elaborating the challenges she has been confronting the victim said “I have a 16 year young single girl child. My husband is abroad slogging to fend for the family. To meet our household expenses I sell homemade pickles and eatable among the villagers. With the news of my details appearing in an adult site came out in public people, both from my family and neighbourhood are treating me a pariah and many have stopped buying my products. Those who treated me with love and affection are now making contemptuous comments against me and I am facing scornful remarks from the society for mistake of mine.”
Further dwelling on the crime the victim said “On this January 29th, when one David, an Indian living in Nigeria, called me on my phone asking for sexual favours I was shuddered. The man who called me said he got my contacts from an adult site and send me the details of the site. From the site I could make out, my picture posted in the site was culled out from a group photo taken during a pre-marriage celebration of the weeding of daughter of my schoolmate where I was present to help her. When confronted my friend who took the picture admitted that she had shared the picture with Fayas. Later on questioning in person Fayas also admitted that he did the mischief of posting my photo and personal contacts with obscene descriptions in the pornographic site. The adult site flaunts our tricolor on top, which is an abuse of the national flag amounting to sedation.”
If the victim’s version has to be believed, the accused Fayas was summoned to the Kattakada Police station for questioning after long six days of reporting a cognizable offence that is non-bailable in nature. “The accused, Fayas, reached the police station escorted by a local businessman Gavaskar who boasts of his high-level political and police connections. Both Gavaskar and the SHO tried to coerce me for a compromise and with draw my petition. Despite the offender admitted and owned the crime he committed the SHO looked determined to bail out the accused and the Police Officer mounted pressure on me to “settle” the latter and withdraw my complaint.”
Doubting the intention of the SHO, the victim submitted a petition to the Hon’ble Chief Minister on 7.02.2023 and also the State Police Chief, “but no response from both the offices till date. “Since the SHO knew that I am determined not to with draw the complaint on 7.02.023 filed a FIR (No.0179/2023) with bailable section of IPC was registered and the accused was allowed walked out freely on station bail.”
The victim says “the police know well that Fayas has close links with the banned PFI and he is an office-bearer of SDPI, an organization under constant surveillance.” According to the victim Fayas “is an IT expert, so investigation of his electronic and other communication gadgets could unearth the history of his suspicious activities and connections both within the country and abroad.” She said that, to dodge investigations and legal actions Fayas was preparing to flee the country.
Explaining her present plight the victim elaborates “the incident of posting my photo on a pornographic site with sexually explicit disruption has become viral and you could imagine how slanderous it could be for a woman with a teenaged daughter living alone. You may just imagine the kind of mental agony and trauma me and my family is undergoing each passing day. My husband is abroad, laboring to fend the family. What could be the kind of metal pressure he is undergoing? My only teenaged daughter is a school going girl. What could be the amount of mental pressure this young girl is undergoing? With posting my picture and details in the pornographic website, not only my stature and image is sullied among my friends and society, but my family members, dear and near are treating with disdain and contempt.”
The victim says that to “prove my innocence both within my family and in the society, the offenders need to be brought to justice. But it is unfortunate, the political leadership, the administration and the police alike are maintaining dubious silence on my case.”
Recalling Kerala State Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijaya’s concern on the increasing cyber-attack against women the victim quips, “the Chief Minister warns the police not to take any soft stand towards those who harass women; it seems the law enforcement force has taken the CM’s words casually.”
