Source: Humans of Bombay

“It was around 7:30 pm, at rush hour when I got off at Dadar station. I was the last one to get off the coach when all of a sudden, I felt someone touching me inappropriately and groping me. When I turned back, I saw the boy hastily getting into the ladies coach. I knew it was him, because when I started screaming, asking the other ladies to catch him, he was trying to escape through the other entrance.

Since nobody acted, my instincts took over, and out of the anger I got back in the coach and slapped him hard. I was furious because he had the audacity to touch me and just walk away. I kept slapping him and kicking him and he didn’t resist. He started weeping and on seeing that, one of the ladies said – “Arre jaane do, kitna maarogi?”(Let him go, how much will you hit him?)

I was surprised and angry at the same time and that’s when I asked her, ‘What if it would have been you or your daughter? Would you react the same way? Today, he has dared to grope; tomorrow, he’ll have the guts to rape -if he isn’t taught a lesson.’

That’s when she kept quiet and other ladies began verbally supporting me, asking me to hand him over to the cops.

I had to wait till Sion station to get him off and I thought the ladies who were supporting me, would help me, but when I turned back to see if anyone was with me – sadly, there was no one.

But I had made up my mind that I wouldn’t let him go so easily. So, I held him by the collar and took him to the police station. There, I shamelessly explained whatever happened. The cops themselves felt disgusted. They slapped him too, but after that they told me that they have taken my compliant, because it would be too much of a hassle to pursue this case, since he was a juvenile (this wasn’t verified by the cops).

They told me they would keep him in the station for a day or two and that it should be enough to teach him a lesson. There was already too much on my mind, so I just left. But before leaving, they told me that I could speak to him.

So, I slapped him one last time, made him apologize and left – not for me but for the thousands of women like me who face this kind of shit everyday and are either too scared to voice their frustration or have to fight for themselves…like I had to.”