Woman alleges sexual harassment at Delhi Metro station

A woman has alleged that she was sexually harassed by a man at a station on Delhi Metro’s yellow line, officials said on Friday.

The woman also alleged that the policeman standing on the platform did not take any action after she approached him for help.

The woman took to Twitter to narrate her ordeal following which the Delhi Police asked her to provide her contact details so that they can reach her.

The DMRC also issued a statement on Friday, saying it takes the issue of safety of its women commuters “very seriously” and that all possible cooperation is being extended to the law and order agencies so that necessary action can be taken.

In a series of tweets, the woman claimed that on Thursday afternoon when she got off at the Jor Bagh metro station, a man approached her on the pretext of confirming an address.

“While travelling on the yellow line today, I faced sexual harassment at the Jor Bagh Station. The man had asked for my help w an address during the metro ride.

“I helped him, then got off at my station and sat on the platform to book a cab. The man approached me again at the station under the garb of confirming the address. Believing dat he needed help..”

The man flashed his genitals while trying to to show me a file containing the address, the woman alleged in a tweet.

The woman also alleged that the policeman standing on the platform did not help her.

“I approached a policeman standing on the platform, but he flatly refused to help me and asked me to go upstairs to talk about it.

“I was still scared but I somehow managed to go upstairs and found other policemen. I asked dem to take me to the CCTV room so dat I could recognise him,” she said in another tweet.

The entire incident was captured on camera but then we saw him get into a different metro and leave.

The woman alleged that when she asked the authorities to do something, they instead blamed her for creating a scene.

“I asked them to do something about it but instead they started blaming me and said dat I shouldve created a scene & tht theres nothing they can do now since he managed to leave,” the woman said in her tweets.

The woman said she is scared to step out of her house and “the incident has completely shaken up my belief that metros are safe.”

She said it’s important that this reaches the right authorities, including the DMRC and the Delhi Police so that they know “how bad their safety measures are”.

Replying to her tweets, the DMRC asked the woman to share the exact time of the incident.

“Please provide exact time of the incident. In such cases, commuters are requested to immediately report the matter to the nearest metro staff or contact customer care centre at the station. They can also call, DMRC helpline no. 155370 or CISF helpline no. 155655 so that immediate help can be provided,” the DMRC said in its tweet.

In its statement, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said, “Delhi Metro takes the issue of the safety of our women commuters very seriously. All possible cooperation is being extended to the law and order agencies so that necessary action can be taken”.

In February 2020, a woman had alleged that she was harassed by a man inside a Delhi Metro train, following which a case was registered.