In first case under new anti-rape law,man booked for stalking woman techie

Police said the techie’s trouble began when she gave her cellphone number and name at the counter to hail a taxi. The man allegedly made about 65 calls a day to the woman claiming he “had all the answers to her problems”.

Airport officials said the woman,a native of Mushktar near Bathinda,works for an IT firm in Mumbai and was on her way to Ludhiana on March 25. The woman was accompanied by 11 others from her firm and the all of them were headed to Ludhiana.

Police said the woman reached Delhi by an Air India flight at 11.10 am and was to board a flight to Ludhiana around 12.30 pm.

As soon as the woman and the remaining passengers boarded the Ludhiana-bound flight,there was a snag and the flight was delayed by three hours.

Speaking to Newsline,the woman said: “Since there was an emergency at home,I decided to take a train to Ludhiana. I came out of the terminal to take a taxi to Old Delhi railway station. The man at the cab counter,who identified himself as Mohammad,asked me for my contact number and name which I gave as I thought it was the normal procedure for hiring a cab.”

Within 18 minutes of boarding the cab,the woman got a call. The caller said,”I know you have problems. I can solve all of them. All you need to do is tell me”,the woman said.

“At first I was shocked but,later,I decided to ignore it,” the woman said.

What followed,the woman told police,was a series of calls – as many as 60-65 a day.

“I reached Ludhiana,but he kept calling. For the next four days,I kept my phone on silent,ignored all personal calls,fearing I would accidentally end up accepting his call. Later,I guessed it was the man at the counter who was responsible for this. He would call me about 65 times a day,about 17 calls within a span of half an hour. So,I called my friend in Delhi and told him to book a cab through this man. My friend called him and told the man to refrain from harassing me. But the man refused saying he would continue doing so and asked my friend why I didn’t want to speak to him,” the woman said.

On April 1,when the woman reached Delhi to board a flight to Mumbai,the man began calling her again. She then approached police and registered a case.

Police said the man,identified as Usman,may have harassed several women in this manner before and are investigating the matter.