Odisha Ayush director arrested for stalking female colleague on Thursday (9th July) .The allegation against the Officer is that he sexually harass a contractual woman employee of his office.
In her complaint, the woman alleged that for the last three months, the official had been pressuring her to have a relationship with him.
The director was also accused of sending obscene text messages and objectionable videos to the woman. She had submitted the evidence of the messages sent to her, a police officer said.
The authority was arrested under Section 354 (attack or criminal power to lady with goal to shock her humility) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67 (discipline for distributing or transmitting foul material in electronic type) of the Information Technology Act, the police said.
The case is registered at women police station under Odisha Police.
Director of AYUSH had appeared before the Women police in the morning to face questioning.
DCP (Deputy commissioner of Police) Bhubaneswar said “We had sent a notice to him to face interrogation. After proper inquiry and verification of the allegation, we found evidence against him. He has been arrested”.
However the accused has denied the act and said it is fabricated against him.
What is “stalking”
In India, stalking – physical or electronic via phone calls, text messages, or emails — is a criminal offence. It is punishable with one to three years in jail.
Stalking is repeated contact that makes you feel afraid or harassed. Someone may stalk you by following you or calling you often. Stalkers may also use technology to stalk you by sending unwanted emails or social media messages. About one in six women has experienced stalking in her lifetime.Women are twice as likely to be stalked as men are.Stalking is a crime.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, “Whoever monitors the use by a person of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication that results in a fear of violence, or interferes with the mental peace of such person, commits the offence of stalking.”
What is Section 66A?
Section 66A of the IT (Amendment) Act, 2008 prohibits the sending of offensive messages though a communication device (i.e. through an online medium). The types of information this covers are offensive messages of a menacing character, or a message that the sender knows to be false but is sent for the purpose of ‘causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, or ill will.’ If you’re booked under Section 66A, you could face up to 3 years of imprisonment along with a fine.
