A horrifying tale of misusing the SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act to coerce and sexually harass a young lady to submit to the carnal pleasures of a Dalit police inspector has come to light in Uttar Pradesh.

As per a report in the Neopolitico, a 25-year-old Brahmin girl has accused a Dalit police officer of molesting and sexually harassing her in Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. In her complaint to the Sultanpur SP, she has accused Sub Inspector Vikas Kumar made several unwanted sexual advances and is forcing her to have a sexual relationship with him.

The young lady said that Vikas Kumar, who is posted at the Nirala Nagar police station, has been stalking har for the last two months. He managed to get hold of her phone number and has been harassing the young woman with incessant calls from his personal phones.

An audio recording of his conversation with her has gone viral in social media platforms an he can be heard demanding the girl to be his girlfriend, as he needs to satisfy his sexual lust with someone since his wife is 6 months pregnant.

A screenshot of the Whats App calls made by Vikas Kumar to the young lady was also shared on the social media. The matter came to light on Wednesday when an independent Brahmin organisation took up the issue and shared the details of the ordeal suffered by the young woman on social media.

The young woman shared all the proofs gathered by her with Neopolitico and said, “Vikas Kumar was following me for the last three months and had tried to talk to me on several occasions. Once I started objecting to the acts he arranged my phone number from other sources. He was forcing me to attend his video calls and had forced me to accept his proposal”, the girl told Neo Politico.

The young woman also emphasised that her harassment got worse when she objected to his sexual advances and started avoiding him. He went to the extent of threatening to file charges against her under the SC/ST Act if she does not relent to his demands. She said, “Vikas Kumar also threatened me with the SC-ST Act when I objected to his behaviour and acts”, she added.

The woman has reportedly shared screenshot of call details and and video calls with the SP and her statements have also been registered by the local police station. A detailed investigation in the matter is being undertaken by the police in this matter and the police has promised strict action against the accused Dalit police officer after due inquiry.

There has been several cases where false accusations under the SC/ST Act made to settle personal scores and enmities. The draconian provisions in the said statute of instantaneous non-bailable arrests without due inquiry has led to misuse of the law and severe harassment of innocent people. Increasingly many innocent people are being harassing by misusing these special laws which do not have safety net against false accusations. Now these special laws are also being used as a tool to sexually harass and coerce women into submission by unscrupulous men with loose character. It is time the centre has a re-look into the draconian provisions of the law.


News input and image source: Neopolitico

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