Thiruvananthapuram: A woman aboard a public transport bus in Trivandrum took matters into her own hands after being molested, recording video evidence of the harassment before publicly confronting her attacker, all while fellow passengers stood by without intervening. The clip, originally posted by Bharat Vision on Facebook, has sparked outrage online, with many praising the woman's courage and criticizing the public's apathy during the incident. In the video, the molester can be seen moving his hands with disturbing confidence, suggesting to many observers that this was not his first offense. Social media users expressed shock at how casually the man carried out the harassment in a crowded public space. "Look how cool he moved up his hands!! This creep should be beat up and in jail. There's literally proof," one commenter wrote, reflecting widespread anger over the incident.

The incident has reignited discussions about the difficulties women face in seeking justice for harassment in India. Several commenters noted that filing cases and obtaining justice remains "extremely difficult," leading many victims to simply kick perpetrators off buses rather than involve police due to fear of bureaucratic hassles and social stigma. "The online discourse and the ground reality of what women go through in India are miles apart," one commenter observed, advising women to "record and document everything." Another user stated that the problem was how public did not see the molestation.“They only saw the woman shouting at the guy. Even conductor is looking confused. Since the lady had the video, she could have asked the conductor to go to police station. Then this guy would be cooked. Its not like other instances where there is no proof and its the woman's statement against the man's,” he added.

Meanwhile, another user highlighted a pertinent point.“I am actually sad this lady had to sit through those few minutes of this man groping her, just so that she has evidence of him doing it. Or else Indian judiciary won't even accept it as a case, rather she'll be questioned why she sat next to man or wore a top in front of a man,” they wrote.

Caught on Camera

The woman's decision to record the harassment proved crucial. Many pointed out that without video evidence, she would likely have faced victim-shaming and skepticism had she chosen to file a complaint, a persistent problem in India's justice system. "The scarier part is the victim shaming this woman would have had to face if she decided to come out without a video evidence," noted one social media user. Others reported that despite having video proof, the woman would be still shamed in some online forums for not stopping the harasser sooner. 

Referring to the Savad case, one social media user wrote,“How can someone be so cool doing creepy and dirty stuff like this to a random stranger and that too in a public place? Is he high or something? Or did he think he would get away with something like that? Oh wait it's India where justice gets barely served. And this happening in the state of Kerala, where a guy masturbatd infront of a random girl is welcomed with a garland when released from jail.”

While the video provides clear evidence, it remains unclear whether the woman filed a formal police complaint. Many online have called for the man's identification and arrest, expressing concern that without legal consequences, he will continue to offend.  “Women have easy life in India, Women are privileged, Women just overreacts about everything, Women just make up stories in their mind. It's just 1% men and we see such incidents everyday and only 1% men harassed cat called eve teased or touched 99% Women inappropriately,” one user pointed out how women have to face the brunt of male violence, in a sarcastic tone.

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