The Mumbai Police is under fire for a recent remark by its chief favouring moral policing
Mumbai's image as a city safe for women has taken a huge beating ever since the gang-rapes at Shakti Mill were reported.
With nearly 200 rapes registered this year in the city, women feel the risk is growing. And desperate times call for desperate measures.
Actress Shilpa Shetty says women should be self-reliant and take steps for their own protection. "I think women should be stronger, they should now start carrying knifes when they are in a crowd. I am just fed up."
The recent incidents are cold consolation for a city that prides itself as being safe for women. And with a huge working population of women who travel in local trains, crimes against women on the city's lifeline are a huge concern.
A 23-year-old nurse who was earlier molested on a local train vented her anger at her attacker. She thrashed him when she was brought face to face with him.
While many complain against the lack of policemen in trains, it is difficult to ignore the other reality. With just 49,000 policemen, the force is really over-stretched.
But what raises eyebrows is the city's top cop propagating moral policing as a solution.
In an interview to NDTV last month, he said, "If we are doing moral policing, it is for the betterment of the society. We have to strike a balance. On the one hand you want to have a promiscuous culture and on the other hand you want a safe and secure environment for the people."
Though Mumbai fares better than Delhi when it comes to women's safety, but for a city where once women travelled without fear, the changing perception is a cause for worry.
Women's rights activist Flavia Agnes says, "Today there is a feeling in the youth when they molest or indulge in sexual harassment on the road they can go scot-free. When the message goes down that they can't go scot-free, the girls are also much more alert, the police are much more responsible and the girls are not scared to file a complaint."