Cant I cross a street without being harassed?

CHENNAI: More than the lewd comments that were hurled at me by a truck driver when I was on my way to work on Saturday, it was the audacity with which he challenged me to take him to task that infuriated me. Has this city become so unsafe that someone can get away with abusing a woman so easily?It all began around 1.30 pm on East Coast Road near Kottivakkam RTO office as I was about to cross a mini load carrier on my way to a bus stop. The driver of the carrier passed a vulgar remark. While I am not the aggressive type who would pick up a fight on the roadside, I just could not let this man get away.When I confronted him, the driver dared me to call the police and try to get him punished. Being a journalist with The New Indian Express, I couldn’t let a rogue challenge the law of the land. I called up the J-6 Thiruvanmiyur Police Station and someone from the other end informed me that a patrol vehicle would soon come to my rescue within five minutes. At least in movies, the police turn up after the climax. But in my case, the patrol vehicle never came even after half-an-hour.In the meantime, the driver had boarded the truck and attempted to give the slip. “I have a lot of work to be done unlike you. I can’t wait for the police,” he said in a casual tone. But I was desperate to see the end of this and immediately jumped on the back of the carrier, refusing to leave the vehicle until the police arrived. Meanwhile, the driver’s brother, two other youngsters claiming to be the owners of the goods carrier and the driver’s father arrived. They surrounded me and started hurling abuses at me.“You might not have behaved like a woman, which would have prompted my son to pass the comment,” said the father defending his son.It was getting way too much for me to handle. I, however, refused to budge. Finally, the driver drove the mini carrier to the J-6 Thiruvanmiyur police station with me on its back.At the station, I was trying to present a graphic account of what I went through to the cops. The driver, meanwhile, threatened me right in front of the police. Here things got a little rough and the police used the cane to subdue the arrogant driver and his brother.Immediately, I noticed few men clad in white dhotis, claiming to be members of some local ‘sangam’ affiliated to a political party, making their entry into the scene. “You are a little girl and you shouldn’t get into all this,” said one. “These things are common in the city,” said the other. I ignored all comments and proceeded to file a complaint.From the inspector’s room, I called up my senior editor to brief him about the incident. He, through a crime reporter, brought the incident to the notice of the Assistant Commissioner of Police of that area who asked the local policemen to receive the complaint. After the paperwork, the inspector offered to drop me at the bus stand.By the time I could leave the police station after collecting the First Information Report (FIR) copy, it was close to 6 pm. I was relieved that the rogue would be brought to book. Later on, when I asked the police about the fate of the driver, I was told that he had been remanded in custody.If this is the plight of a journalist, I wonder how women without any connections fend off predators in the city. THIRD ATTACK THIS MONTH This is the third incident of abuse involving an Express journalist this month. In the first one, a reporter was assaulted by a gang of people owing allegiance to a political party at his rented home in Arumbakkam, where he moved in barely hours before the incident.In the second one, a hooded motorcyclist tried to molest another Express staffer in Mogappair when she was on her way home on her bike after work.