You indirectly revealed my identity: Bangalore rape survivor tells media, files case

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Anisha Sheth | The News Minute | July 18, 2014 | 5.22 pm IST The post-graduate student who was raped in the Fraser Town area on July 11 has lodged a complaint against three television channels in the state and the Pulakeshinagar police, alleging that they had revealed her identity. Speaking to The News Minute on Friday, a senior police officer who requested anonymity said that on the basis of the woman’s complaint, the Pulakeshinagar police had registered a case under Section 228A of the Indian Penal Code against the Pulakeshinagar police, and three Kannada news channels TV 9, Suvarna News 24x7, and Samaya TV, and others. Section 228A makes it a punishable offence to print or publish “the name or any matter which may make known the identity of any person” who is a victim of rape as registered under Sections 376, 376A, 376B, 376C or 376D. The officer said that it was not clear in what capacity the police had revealed her identity, but it would be investigated as would the role of the media. If necessary, the investigating officer would be changed, he added. Currently, as the Pulakeshinagar Inspector Mohammed Rafi had been suspended, Inspector of Bowring Hospital Outpost had been given charge of the investigation. Talking about the complaint, the officer said that the woman had alleged that the channels may have blurred her face, but they had shown the faces of her friends. “What constitutes identity? Even if a channel adds a black strip across the eyes, won't the person be recognised by those who know them?” the police officer said, adding that identity too, needed to be defined under the law. He said that the media had turned up at the woman’s house. To a question on whether the police were likely to issue any internal guidelines, since the police too had been named in the complaint, the officer said that the government was likely to approach the police. “When this happens, may be we can have wider consultations, involve social groups and even the media,” the officer said, adding that the media too should evolve a code where they did not invade the privacy of victims of sexual offences.

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