4 lessons I learnt from Dipti's case.

Being an employee of an e commerce giant has its own advantages. I realised it in Dipti Sarna's case. After I saw the movie "Talwar", my faith in UP government was shattered. I find UP a state of utter chaos, hooligans and foul language. Pardon me if I am wrong. this is based on my limited knowledge and travel experience.

Incase you do not know, Dipti is a CS and an employee in Snapdeal's Legal Department. She works in Gurgaon but lives in Ghaziabad. She commutes via metro daily (Hats off to her!). For those who've been commuting from Vaishali to Gurgaon via metro, it is a long tedious journey. Her daily routine is to board a metro from gurgaon, deboard at Vaishali Metro station and then take a shared auto till Kavi Nagar Bus Stand , from where her Father picks her up. If anyone has been following any travel routine since 1 year, there isn't something dangerous or to be scared off.

But on 10th February 2016, while returning home in the shared Auto, in Ghaziabad, Dipti Sarna was abducted. Being an employee of Snapdeal, the news got viral on social media quickly and #HelpFindDipti campaign was started soon. She was found in Haryana after 36 hours at a railway station. She says her abductors were nice to her, fed her and did not physically harm her. In this whole incident, there were certain things I learnt as a girl.

Lesson #1: If you travel in a shared auto / any other vehicle , note the vehicle number and share it with your close friends / family before boarding. In UBER, there is an option of sending such info. I am sure it's there in other similar platforms.

Lesson #2 : While travelling by public vehicle, keep talking to someone than listening to music or chatting on WhatsApp. It makes the driver / co passengers feel that someone is tracking your movement and helps raise an alarm quickly. Like in the case of Dipti Sharma.

Lesson #3 : As a girl, make sure you have girls as co-passengers. If the last girl ,besides you, is getting down, you too get down at that very station.

Lesson #4 : We should DEFINITELY carry pepper spray. I am guilty of buying it but not carrying it so far :(

I am not saying that we, as girls, should be scared and submissive. But there is no harm in taking preventive measures. Our safety is important for us , not for the Police or the Government.

-

Swati