Mumbai: Branded prostitute on Facebook, woman awaits police help

For the past two months, a 39-year-old woman from Santacruz has been living in constant fear, as some random person sends messages to her friends on Facebook, branding her a characterless woman. Though the victim has approached three police stations, her complaints have fallen on deaf ears.

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The woman, Tabassum (name changed), currently resides in Santacruz along with her parents. On August 10, she came to know from a friend that a woman by the name Sunita Saigal messaged him on Facebook and said that she was characterless.

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Similar messages
Tabassum said, "When she asked me whether I knew the woman, I replied in negative. He told me that the woman said that I was into prostitution. Initially, I ignored all of this, but a couple of days later another friend of mine received similar messages from the same woman. She first initiated a conversation with him and then started speaking ill about me. When I got to know about it, I decided to file a complaint and approached the Agripada police station on August 12."

"A few days later another friend of mine received similar messages from the woman. When I visited the Agripada police station to follow up with the cops, they asked me to approach the Santacruz police station, as by then I had moved out of Agripada. I registered a complaint with the Santacruz police, but my friends continued to get the messages. A cousin of mine had also started receiving the messages. That is when I decided to approach the cyber crime cell in BKC. However, they told me that the local police should register an FIR with them and only then they can take action," she added.

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Social media scare
Speaking about the harassment that she has been facing for the past two months, Tabassum further said, "More than 15 of my friends have received the messages from the same woman. If some anonymous person can send messages to people on my Facebook friend list, then she can also create a fake ID in my name and misuse my pictures. As I am a teacher by profession, I'm worried that my students may get to know about it. The police should be proactive in this case." Meanwhile, when contacted, Shantanu Pawar, senior police inspector of Santacruz police station, said, "I will look into the matter."

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