Dwcra women stripped and filmed

Feb. 4: The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has sought a report from the Anantapur police on the allegation that a field officer of the State Bank of India had filmed 21 Dwcra women in the nude after drugging them.

The SHRC’s directive follows a complaint by the AP Mahila Samakhya and three other women’s organisations. According to them, the field officer lured Dwcra members into a room near the bank’s branch at Guntakal village in Anantapur district on the pretext of providing loans.

He gave them coffee mixed with intoxicants and then took obscene photographs of the women. The women organisations also alleged that the footage dubbed with movie songs was played for 40 days in a theatre during the late-night show. The field officer identified as Prabhakar allegedly undressed the drugged women and recorded the photographs in his cellphone and later gave them to two local Internet operators, Venu and Sudhakar, for sound mixing. The president of the Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samakhya, Ms K. Aruna, said the women in the village were leaving their homes, following the circulation, and some were ostracised by their families.

The petition mentioned that the Guntakal DSP, who inquired into the matter asked Prabhakar to take leave from the office. Later, Prabhakar was reportedly arrested and released on bail. The organisations made similar representations to the home minister and the Anti-Human Trafficking wing of the CID, demanding justice. In response to the petition, the Chairman of the Commission, Justice B. Subhashan Reddy, directed the Anantapur district superintendent of police to submit a report by February 15.