BENGALURU: A 26-year-old woman allegedly fought back against sexual harassment by confronting a fruit vendor, recording the interaction on her mobile phone and later helping police arrest him after the video went viral on social media.The accused, identified as Vijay Ragav (42), a fruit vendor and resident of NRI Layout in Ramamurthy Nagar, was arrested after the woman, a private firm employee from Chikkamagaluru, filed a formal complaint.An FIR has been registered in the case and police have also seized the accused’s two-wheeler.During questioning, Ragav denied the woman’s allegations and gave a different account of the incident.He claimed he had stopped his scooter to answer a phone call after dropping his business partner. According to him, he noticed the woman standing outside the PG and looked at her out of curiosity.He alleged that the woman then asked whether he had “never seen a girl wearing shorts before.” Irritated by the remark, he claimed he responded by saying he would pay Rs 10,000 before leaving when she began recording him.‘Asked my price’According to police, the incident took place around 1.30am on Monday when the woman was waiting for her cab outside her paying guest accommodation in Ramamurthy Nagar.Police said Ragav allegedly stared at the woman and, when she questioned him, asked her “price” and offered her Rs 10,000 in exchange for sexual favours.The woman immediately confronted him and began recording the interaction on her mobile phone. The accused allegedly fled the spot on his scooter after noticing he was being filmed.Later, she uploaded the video on Instagram, where it quickly went viral.Instagram post sparks police actionThe woman said she shared the video online to help identify the accused and draw attention to harassment faced by women in public spaces.“As a woman, I should be able to wait for my cab without being treated like an object or being propositioned for money. His words were intimidating, disrespectful, and made me fear for my safety,” she wrote in her post.She also urged people not to ignore such incidents.“The complainant said such behaviour should not be normalised or ignored and urged law enforcement authorities to identify the accused and take appropriate action.”She further appealed to the public to speak up against harassment in public spaces.Police contact woman after video goes viralAfter the video gained widespread attention online, police contacted the woman and asked her to file a formal complaint.Following the complaint, officers tracked down and arrested Ragav.A senior police officer said, “We have registered an FIR and arrested the accused.”Police say remark itself amounts to an offencePolice said they are investigating the circumstances surrounding the exchange.However, a senior police officer said that irrespective of what led to the conversation, asking a woman her price and offering her money constituted an offence.
