Tackling stalker syndrome in Chennai

Chennai city police are yet to have a ‘Pink Squad’ in place, to check cases of harassment of women in public. At present, most of the policing in this regard is being done as a reactive measure, as the police act after they receive a complaint from the victim of harassment. Officials from the all-women police stations do make occasional rounds near city educational institutions and bus stops to look for possible trouble makers. But proactive-policing is largely missing and the stalkers are out there, ready to harm their targets. 

The Sunday attack on a woman near Royapettah by a man who felt spurned in love, is the latest instance and proof that the furore over safety of women following the murder of Swathi on June 24, 2016, has not yielded any desired result. In most of the cases, the parents or the girls who come forward to complain against stalking want the police to warn the person first and are not keen on pressing with a legal case. 

“The parents should show the courage to come to the police and complain. We can arrest the stalker under Section 354 D of Indian Penal Code (IPC). The accused can also be booked under the (sections of) Women Harassment Act. To do so, we need the cooperation of parents,” Additional Commissioner, South, K Shankar told DT Next . He said the women officers patrol the incident-prone areas, to keep the trouble makers at bay. “However, this cannot prevent stalking, as the women officials will be checking out on men who trouble women in public places. To act on a particular case of stalking, we need to get the specifics, a proper complaint,” Shankar added.

City police do get complaints against stalking, but they come with the condition that the police call the stalker first and warn him. A call from the police settles about 80 per cent of such cases. But sources say that it is a double-edged sword, as a psychologically disturbed stalker could get ruffled by the act of his target and could even turn violent. 

“What we need is a more inclusive approach to address this issue. A traditional policing method is not going to work in this case, as most of the stalkers are psychologically disturbed. So, instead of threatening to arrest the stalker, the police should summon him and facilitate psychological counselling,” another senior police official said. 

Police sources say that many youngsters still consider stalking as a legitimate way to woo a girl of their interest. Tamil movies have a heavy dose of such ‘stalk-first-then love’ subjects and the youngsters are influenced by such stories, the official added. “Stalking is very personal and a man may be behaving properly in public places, but differently in private when it comes to a particular girl. Therefore, police will not be able to identify a stalker, unless the girl comes forward and informs the police,”  K Shankar said.

June 24,2016: Swathi, a 24-year-old software engineer was hacked to death in full public view by a stalker at Nungambakkam Railway Station.

October 7, 2016: Kumaran Nagar police arrest a stalker who assaulted an engineering college student in public when she spurned his love.

July 25, 2016: Manali police arrest a 19-year-old stalker following a complaint from a 17-year-old.

July 21, 2016: Washermanpet police arrest an auto driver who stalked a college girl and slit her throat with a knife when she refused to accept him.

March 18, 2016: A US-based IT professional arrested by Mahabalipuram police for stalking his ex-wife.

March 22, 2017: A working woman was stabbed in full public view at Mambalam by her former colleague