Not a single day goes by without news of a woman being harrassed, groped, raped or molested. There seems to be no end to this depravity. Are women safe anywhere, at all? It's a sad truth that no one has an answer to.

While some women muster the courage to report incident, others choose not to, out of fear of being judged or just confronting unresponsive officials. This 22 YO woman was the victim of the latter.

In a gut-wrenching incident, the woman's Facebook post recounts the horror of a man publicly masturbating at her on a Mumbai local train and the railway police instead of helping, laughed off her complaint!

Facebook/Pooja Nair/PTI

The woman identified as Pooja Nair, a post-graduate sociology student in Bengaluru, stated in her post that the incident occurred on June 15. She was travelling back to her home in Mulund after meeting her friends in Borivali when the incident took place.

The woman wrote on Facebook: "I'm looking at my phone and I see him waving at the girl through the railing. He's put his hands through and has reached half the distance to the girl's face. I cannot hear him, I'm wearing headphones. I reduce the music, out of curiosity and also to see whether she needs help, I do not turn. Looking down at my phone, I hear him calling her m******d. I heard it at least six times in the 30 seconds I listened. I looked at him, our eyes met and I looked down again (sic)."

She added: "Meanwhile, he puts his hand down, whips out his penis and grins at me, he starts masturbating. For those who know me also know that I have seen this too many times. Maybe that prepared me to do what I tried next. I was rational, calm."

ALSO READ: Every Single Woman Has Been Groped & Stared At On Public Transport. This Twitter Thread Is Proof

In her post, she says that all of this took place in the presence of five other women in the compartment. What's even more shocking is when she called the police helpline number, the officials only laughed at her as they apparently found it “funny”. She even gave the police helpline number all the details including the compartment she was in and the next station that was supposed to arrive. The police helpline cut the call.

The woman's Facebook post immediately went viral with several other women opening up about horror stories from the Mumbai local. According to reports, Government railway police (GRP) officers have started tracing the culprit and also the official who did not take the woman’s complaint seriously.

Read her full post below:

Mass-Train-Bait/ Masturbate

Mumbai

Train from Borivali to Dadar

3.38 pm that was delayed. Picture taken at 4.09 pm

I'm sitting in the train, going back home after meeting friends who live in Borivali. I'm in the ladies compartment, there are about 6 other women. I'm sitting on the side that can see the handicapped section of the train, but with railings in between. On my left, there is another girl. We both are listening to music. In the handicapped section is a man. I'm looking at my phone and I see him waving at the girl through the railing. He's put his hands through and has reached half the distance to the girl's face. I cannot hear him, I'm wearing headphones.

I reduce the music, out of curiosity and also to see whether she needs help, I do not turn. Looking down at my phone, I hear him calling her madarchod. I heard it atleast 6 times in the 30 seconds I listened. I looked at him, our eyes met and I looked down again.

There are many mentally challenged people who travel on the train regularly and I'm used to many of them cursing, so I thought him to be one of them and let it go.

The split second where our eyes locked, he took the chance to come to me. He came to my side of the compartment and put his hands through just like he had done before.

He called me the same, another 6-10 times.

I looked up, and just kept looking at him for 20 seconds. Thinking of what I should do.

Meanwhile, he puts his hand down, whips out his penis and grins at me, he starts masturbating. For those who know me also know that I have seen this too many times. Maybe that prepared me to do what I tried next. I was rational, calm.

And I asked the other women to tell me the police helpline and also yelled that this man was showing me his privates.

They gave me the helpline. I had just run out of credit in the morning, so the girl he was waving at first gave me the phone. I called up the helpline.

The next paragraph is a summary of that conversation:

I told the person on the line all the details. The train was just approaching Kandivli. Which compartment, what time. All of it.

Then I told him that this person had also called us what he did. And then the person on the helpline laughed. He found it funny.

I asked him whether they'd pick this person up at Kandivli.

He cut the call.

I'm not sure what happened. When Kandivli came, the man got out of the compartment and started walking towards the doors of the ladies compartment. 6 women who could easily take him down, started yelling. I stood up and walked towards the door. He told me he would rape me. I told him to do it. (I only did so because I knew he wouldn't and because the time permitted me , so did the space.)

Learnings :

1. Our helplines. Do they really help? Or is equality for women just a trend for marketing and PR?

2. Rape is supposed to scare me. Stop being scared by it. Stop making it a big deal. Somewhere there, it will stop.

Don't take me wrong.

Rape IS a big deal. But physically, mentally for the pain it causes. not because the honor of this society lies in my vagina. Not because I will be SCARED by the prospect because my life will be ruined.

I once even called a suicide helpline that didn't pick up. The irony.