Traumatised

It was a CCTV footage that shocked Bengaluru on May 2^nd. Every woman who saw it shuddered. The camera on the street outside a PG accommodation in Kathriguppe, South Bengaluru, captured the man lurching in the shadows... suddenly scoop this 25-year-old North Eastern girl in his arms while she was on the phone in front of her PG... It was 9.51 pm on April 23^rd. The victim has alleged that he headed to the alley nearby as she screamed for help in his clutches.

I saw that fear gripping her as the victim narrated this to me in the studio yesterday at 7pm. She was there nervously seated in front of the camera with her nose and mouth wrapped with a dupatta. I saw her eyes scanning me in fear... Understandable, after what she went through.

"It was traumatic. I screamed for help. He tried to rape me. I bit his hand and thankfully escaped to reach my PG," she said. I found her extremely thin and lanky. Almost size zero. She knew what I was thinking. "I work for a beauty clinic in Kalyan Nagar."

She was panic-stricken as she recounted the incident to the PG owner, who reportedly tried to dissuade her from filing a complaint. “Everybody around me told me not to file a complaint,” she said. The police claim that they visited the PG since she did make a distress call to 100. But with no complaint, they could do nothing.

"But I wanted to bring this incident to light so that no other woman gets to face this situation like I did," she said. Thanks to the CCTV, a crucial evidence in this case, and her bold decision... The police forced the PG owner to file a complaint and the police jumped into action.

“I couldn’t stay in the PG any more. I shifted the very next day. How will I feel safe there after all this?” she said, with her eyes brimming with tears. Call it cosmopolitan… call it an IT city… Bengaluru in 2014 saw more than 250 cases registered under Pocso… and  2015 saw the arrest of 238 persons in 263 pocso cases, where167 were released on bail. Does the judiciary understand the gravity of the offence and the nature of the allegation? When every parent in Bengaluru is worried about their child at school, every woman – local or from the North-East or elsewhere – will live n this city, perpetually terrified of that man who will suddenly pounce on them from nowhere.

If it can happen in a heavily populated, residential area like Kathriguppe, one can imagine the consequences if it were to happen in several of the remote corners of this city. “In fact, nobody came to help initially,” the victim said. The CCTV showed a woman walking there unmindful of this girl being abducted. Not everyone will get to be lucky to find a CCTV as a crucial evidence or will have the grit to file a case or will even have the presence of mind to bite his hand and flee.

3 hours after I met the victim, Bengaluru police announced the arrest of the accused, Akshay, a 24-year-old cab driver from Kanakapura Road under sections of kidnapping as well as attempt to murder. According to the police, the accused person, a rowdy sheeter from the same police station limits, has confessed to the crime. As part of the investigation, the police has requested the victim to come over to record her statement and also identify the accused, based on which, further action will be taken.

I was thinking... How will this victim face him again at the police station? Wouldn’t one be terrified to see the same face that tore into one’s peace, joy, sleep and safety in a fraction of a second?

Captain’s Driving Force

If Vijaykanth is the King, his wife seems to be the kingmaker. And I realised how tough it was to get to the power centre of the DMDK – Premalatha. 2 weeks of relentless pursuit. Of which, one week to get to her assistant. And finally, she gave me 24 hours to travel 370 kms from Chennai to Dindigul to catch her in between her campaign.

One night’s drive with no sleep... and 2 hours of wait at Dindigul... I was paranoid, she might postpone the interview... Finally at 2pm, I saw her. A hint of disappointment washed over me to realise Vijaykanth was not with her. As if reading my mind, she came up to me and said, “Vijaykanth is in Virudhunagar. And I was in Erode. I am driving through the lengths and breadths of TN for the campaign. Sorry for the delay.” Loud voice, confident stride, dominant attitude and bold persona – that is Premalatha for you.

Mention Vijaykanth and she didn’t waste a minute to say he is the king. Though, he decided to do so after much deliberation and later seeking an answer from his followers in Kancheepuram. “Whatever decision he makes, usually he will ask in the rally,” she said. And she justified the decision by saying, “DMDK came as an alternative to DMK and the AIADMK.”

However, DMDK did join hands with AIADMK in 2011. And Premalatha said that was one of the biggest mistakes. She said Vijaykanth was furious Jaya was straying away from her election promises. Even now, Premalatha said that Jaya has shown no development in the state. She said, “I travel all over TN. I see trees, but no industries. There is no development. And no basic needs.”

Premalatha is against both the “ruling party as well as the ruled party”. She is sure that Stalin’s makeover will have zero connect with the voters. Whether he sips tea or sings a song, she said, “all that is drama. People can see through it. Why did he not meet the people when he was deputy CM?” She is also convinced that captain’s white dhoti and shirt retains the TN culture, which will make him click, as opposed to the trousers that Stalin and Anbumani Ramadoss sport. “Those two dress like they are going for a film shoot,” she said.

Vijaykanth may have hailed from the film industry before he stepped into the political world. For Premalatha, Vijaykanth is a man meant for the people. Jaya has always said, “makkalikaaga naan, makkalaal naan (meaning I am for the people and I am because of the people)”. Premalatha said, “Vijaykanth can act in cinema. But he can’t act before his people.” Also said that if Jaya meant what she said, ‘amma’ wouldn’t be sitting in an AC enclosure letting her ‘children’ die in the hot sun.

While Amma is known for her whatsapp calls, Vijaykanth is known for his whatsapp jokes. “It used to upset me,” Premalatha said, “But I have realised that there are no negative things about captain. No corruption. No criminal cases. They will criticise him only like this. It’s all planned by the AIADMK and the DMK.”

Jokes apart, Vijaykanth was one of the ‘most-wanted’ man when the election was announced. DMK used many proverbs to suggest that the alliance between DMK and DMDK was almost through. Premalatha said, “It was all spread by Kalaignar. Is there any place where DMK and DMDK officially met? Captain never announced anywhere. Did he?” However, there was an official meeting held between the BJP and the DMDK. Premalatha blamed it on the communists who were part of the alliance that forced them to say no to the BJP.

After all, Modi seems to have no magic in an amma-nadu. “It was in 2014 only during the MP elections. Not now. I don’t think so,” Premalatha said.

As we wrapped up, Premalatha was gearing up for her campaign and was telling me that TN is 100 pc ready for change... She smiled and waltzed away. Being an ardent follower of Tamil cinema, I remembered a dialogue from Vijaykanth’s famous movies Ramana. “Change – TN ku pudicha orrey vaarthey. (meaning change is the only word that TN likes)”.