Tripura: FIR filed after girl sexually harassed in auto, outrage on social media after video goes viral

Massive outrage erupted on social media after a man was seen sexually harassing a female student inside an auto in Agartala, following which an FIR was filed on Wednesday, April 16 late evening.

The incident came to light after Tripura Royal Scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma shared the matter on Facebook, urging the Youth Tipra Federation, the youth wing of Tipra Motha Party, to contact police authorities.

“I have got reports of a female student being harassed in an auto by another male passenger. If this culprit gets away by doing this, then another female may be targeted in the future. I have spoken to the victim myself and assured her all help, and I asked President Suraj Debbarma and General Secretary James Debbarma of YTF to immediately contact the police authorities. We cannot allow such things in our society. We won’t stay silent,” said Pradyot.

Describing the incident, the victim said she was on her way to university and had boarded an auto from the GB Bazar area, where three people were already in the vehicle.
The victim girl had also shot the entire matter on his phone.

“I sat in the corner, then one lady, then this guy. We only reached Shamali Bazar when this guy touched my shoulder (inappropriately), so I directly confronted him and asked him to remove his hand. But he got so hyper and started saying so many things. I told the lady who was sitting in the middle that he touched me inappropriately and she also scolded him. Even the driver did the same. I thought it was fine, but then when we reached Battala area, the lady got down at her destination, and this man started doing all such stuff again. I directly asked the driver to let him out, and then he started threatening me,” she said.

She further added, “I was so scared I started crying and shaking. The driver made him get down, but he was still running and following the auto. Since I was very scared, I asked the driver for help. He stayed with me for a while and gathered some other uncles around. Only then did the man stop following me. This left me traumatised and with a question—how am I ever going to feel safe again, that too in broad daylight?”

Following Pradyot’s intervention, an FIR was filed demanding strict action against the accused. The incident has sparked a storm of protests on social media, with many youths—including both girls and boys—criticising the act and demanding strong action.