Peeping Toms On The Prowl 'In Locker Room'

Blackmail, bullying, shaming and ogling—all part of the cyber world that is increasingly our public space.

- Siddhartha Mishra

THIS is an excerpt from an email that landed in 26-year-old Taruna Aswani’s inbox on October 21 this year. More than cringe-worthy at first glance, it goes without saying that this attempt at cyber blackmail is illegal. And yet, more and more such cases have been raising their ugly heads across the internet. They are difficult to investigate or reach their legal conclusion: a conviction.

Aswani’s case had been taken up by some news channels and it looked as if it was making progress. But, after three weeks, she tells Outlook that her case has just been transferring from one unit to another. “In Mumbai, they are not even ready to file my complaint,” says the 26­ year ­old who is currently working in Maryland in the US. She mentions that two complaints to the Internet Crime Branch in the US have failed too. “I’m so disappointed at how incompetent the system is, not just in India but here as well. By doing this (posting about the incident on Facebook) I was just standing up for myself instead of being a victim: I didn’t want to be a silent one. I wanted to fight him.” Aswani stresses on the “hope” she had while coming out with it, and now on the “constant feeling of fear, every minute of every day,” that she has to endure.