Sexual abuse in IT City? Unpardonable!

Anything which occurs in the IT hub of the country immediately grabs eyeballs across the world. And when it is something like sexual harassment, one can imagine the extent of outrage and the amount of brickbats being showered on those in charge of law and order in the city.

On Saturday, Bengaluru woke up to the news that a bike taxi rider who has since been arrested, had harassed a passenger while on a ride with the lady accusing him of touching her inappropriately. The law is taking its course and one hopes exemplary punishment is handed out to the driver concerned.

Such incidents point to the lacunae as far as personal safety in Namma Bengaluru is concerned. This is a cosmopolitan city where people from across the country and world work day and night and often travel during odd hours to their destinations - whether it be home or office.

Considering the fact that public transport modes like government buses and the metro do not always cater to their commuting needs, people are virtually forced to rely on cabs, bike taxis and the like to make it to their destinations.

It is therefore the responsibility of service providers, the government and cops to make sure anyone hiring a cab or a bike taxi is safe and secure and does not have anything to fear from anyone including the driver of the vehicle.

In the latest incident, it is obvious that the trust factor has been violated, shaking the confidence people have in those who drive them to their destinations - whether it is in the hot sun or in the dead of the night. Years ago, Bengaluru woke up to a shocking piece of news that a techie who was being taken to her destination by a cab driver employed by her company, had been raped and murdered and her body left in the city’s outskirts.

The horrific incident pointed to the need for heightened security measures by all those employing women staffers, particularly those working into the late night hours, to augment safety. Intensive background checks, monitoring of vehicular movement and systems to make sure employee have reached their destinations safely, are an essential part of such security measures.

Not to mention the need to ensure that people are treated properly by those who carry them in their vehicles, which has sadly not happened in the latest case emerging from Bengaluru. Exemplary punishment will have to be handed out to those who violate the norms of decency and engage in such vile acts, so that a stern message goes out that there will be no tolerance for anyone involved in impermissible behaviour.

Service providers and the government will now have to reexamine their safety protocol and make sure that passengers have enough means at their disposal for grievance redressal when something like this happens.

Such steps should be augmented by campaigns, particularly among drivers of such vehicles to impress upon them the need for being decent, while delivering the service for which they have been hired.  We just cannot have such incidents maligning the fair name of our city.