Sexually harassed and followed in Jayanagar at 4:30 PM on Sunday — broad daylight

Jayanagar has always been a familiar part of Bangalore for me, and I have been visiting the area since I was a child. I regularly visit the area and have always considered it a comfortable and familiar place.

On a Sunday, at around 4:30 PM, I was in Jayanagar with a female friend. We were simply walking around, talking and having fun.

We entered a side road from the main road. A man on a scooter entered the same road behind us and followed us while touching his private parts with one hand. He then turned towards a road on the right.

We were obviously creeped out and scared, so we immediately left that road, returned to the main road and took another parallel road to get away from him.

We eventually reached a nearby public park, which was only a couple of roads away. There were plenty of elderly people, parents and children around, so we assumed we were safe there.

But then we saw the same man on his scooter outside the park grill.

He started catcalling us and making sexual sounds towards us. At that point, we were genuinely scared and didn't know how to react. We moved away and told two men who were walking behind us what had happened. The man eventually left on his scooter.

His description: he was a dark-skinned man, approximately 5'7"–5'8", with black hair and a moustache. He was riding a black/grey scooter.

I subsequently contacted the police and asked if they could send a beat/patrol to the area. I have also submitted an anonymous report for personal reasons, with the details and information about potentially relevant CCTV in the area.

But this is so disheartening as a woman — to have an experience like this in broad daylight, in a place that has always felt familiar and comfortable to me.

I'm sharing this because Jayanagar is an area I have always considered familiar and comfortable, and this incident genuinely shook me. If you regularly walk around Jayanagar or nearby areas, please stay aware of your surroundings and look out for each other.

If anyone has experienced something similar in Jayanagar or has any useful information about this kind of behaviour in the area, please share it.