Cops receive anonymous letter defaming woman constable

MUMBAI: Months after a fake letter alleging senior officers of the motor transport department sexually exploited women constable/drivers created a simmering controversy, a similar letter by an anonymous sender reached a Central Mumbai police station defaming their female constable.

The letter, which was brought to attention on Thursday by the female cop, stated that she was having an affair with a male constable and threatened to inform her family about the alleged affair. The unknown sender has given very minute details about the female cop, which the police think can only be obtained by stalking her, after which the police registered a case against the unknown person.

“A letter was received at the police station a few days ago addressed to our 30-year-old female constable. When the woman constable went through the letter, she found several defamatory things mentioned about her, like she had an affair with a male constable at the same police station and threatened to inform her family about it,” said a police officer. “All the allegations made in the letter were fake, so the female constable approached us to register an offence.”

The unidentified person has been booked under sections 354D (stalking), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code. “We have started the investigation to find out from which area the letter was posted. We are hopeful to trace the accused, and only after that we can find the motive behind this act,” said the police officer.

Earlier in January 2024, a similar letter like this went viral. The letter claimed that eight women constables with the motor transport department had been sexually exploited by three officers of the same department. A probe by the Mumbai crime branch into the allegations revealed that the letter was fake and was maliciously circulated as a result of intra-department malice. “We had taken the letter seriously and investigated only to find the letter was fake as all the female constables denied the allegations. We had registered a case in the matter then, and the investigations into the same area are ongoing,” said a police officer.