Activist Trupti Desai Forms Vigilante Group Tai-Giri Pathaks To Fight Harassment Against Women

At a time when serious questions are being raised about the increasing intolerance in the country, activist Trupti Desai has decided to turn a moral vigilante.

She has formed Tai-giri (Tai means elder sister in Marathi) Pathaks (squads), whose members have threatened to roam the lanes of Mumbai and Pune carrying lathis to dispense on-the-spot `justice' in cases of women being harassed or anyone indulging in "indecent behaviour".

BCCL

Desai, who shot to the limelight for her fight for women's entry at places of worship, features in a cringe-worthy YouTube video, titled The Angry Goddesses, wherein she is shown as a devoted homemaker and a mother, who after sending off her son to school, leaves the house with a lathi to teach miscreants a lesson.

Convinced that she is doing the police and the society a favour, Desai said members of her organisation will patrol the streets on two-wheelers and those "passing comments at women or harassing them in any other way" at public places will be targeted.

Seven such squads will begin their patrol in Pune next week, she said. "Each pathak will comprise two women and two men. The women will take on the miscreants while the male members will record evidence against the goons and also inform the police," she said.

ANI

When pointed out that she had no legal authority to conduct such activities, and she, in fact, was breaking the law, an unfazed Desai said, "There is a need for such action because even the cops are under attack these days.

"Who will stand up for us? The women have to stand up for themselves," she said, adding that Tai-giri will not be a negative concept like bhai-giri and dadagiri.

"Tai-giri is aimed at bringing about a change in the way men look at women and think it is okay to misbehave, push, pinch, and pass comments," Desai said, adding that she will target "indecent behaviour as a whole". "If couples indulge in indecent behaviour at public places, they will be dealt with by us," she said.

BCCL

Just like extremist groups, Desai's line of thinking has no time for individuals' own choices and freedom. She chose to justify her violent and illegal proposal on the ground that she will be "helping" the police. "When we see a cop with a lathi, we respect as well as fear him. That is what we aim to achieve through Tai-giri. The culprits will think twice before indulging in anything wrong. Our pathaks are eventually going to bring down the workload of the cops. We are ultimately helping them," she said.

The Pune police commissioner, Rashmi Shukla, warned Desai against any such misadventure. "I don't know what she is planning but all I can say is that no-one is above the law. Nobody will be allowed to roam the streets carrying lathis or weapons," Shukla said.

Desai said that the Maharashtra Police's Nirbhaya Squad to protect women had been ineffective but Shukla countered it saying Desai wasn't aware of the reality. "In Pune, the Nirbhaya Squad booked over 400 people during this year's Ganeshotsav. This just shows the squad is working very well," the Pune top cop said.