NEW DELHI, Jan 21: Suicide by a man has led to the arrest of a woman who had accused him of sexually harassing her in a bus in Kerala last week. The 35-year-old woman influencer whose accusation is believed to have led to the 42-year-old man committing suicide was arrested on Wednesday.
Shimjitha Musthafa and Deepak U were travelling on the same bus last week. Musthafa, an influencer, recorded a video stating that Deepak had sexually harassed her and then uploaded it to her social media account. The video went viral and received more than 20 lakh views.
“Yesterday, I shared a video from a public bus where a man deliberately touched me without my consent. This was not an accident or a misunderstanding. It was a clear violation of my sexual boundaries,” Musthafa said in the video.
“I began recording after noticing a woman in front of me was uncomfortable. Despite knowing he was being recorded, the man still went ahead and touched me. This shows a deliberate act, a lack of empathy and the belief that he would face no consequences,” she added.
On Sunday, two days after the video was recorded, Deepak’s parents found their only son hanging at their house in Kozhikode. They said the 42-year-old was innocent and felt very humiliated. He had also not eaten for two days – including Saturday, his birthday – after the video went viral.
“My child could not bear it. He has not been accused of anything wrong ever,” Deepak’s mother had said. Musthafa deleted the video and then uploaded another clip defending herself. This video was also later made private.
On Monday, the police had registered a case against the influencer for abetment of suicide. The Kerala State Human Rights Commission also ordered a police probe into the incident and directed the North Zone Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police to submit a report within a week. Musthafa was arrested on Wednesday.
(Manas Dasgupta)