Jaipur model faces harrowing ordeal at Gurugram's Rajiv Chowk

A man was caught on camera masturbating in front of a model in a busy intersection in Gurugram. The incident took place last Friday, at around 11 am, when model Soni Singh, returning from Jaipur, was waiting for a cab. She recorded the incident on her phone. She, who has a substantial following on Instagram, narrated the ordeal in a post on social media and also accused the police of a delay in registering her complaint.

Soni Singh said she had come to Gurugram from Jaipur and was waiting for a cab at Rajiv Chowk, a key and busy junction, when the incident occurred. The model claimed that while she was waiting for her cab, a man approached her and kept staring. He then unzipped his pants and allegedly masturbated on her.

In her video post, Ms Singh said she did not scream or retaliate at that moment as she was in shock and fear. "People said I should have shouted or slapped him, but no one really understands what goes through a woman's mind at that moment. I just wanted to stay safe," she said.

However, Soni Singh's ordeal did not end there. She claimed that even after reaching out to the police and women's helpline several times, she received no immediate help. The model said that when she eventually managed to contact the police, they declined to register her complaint online.

"After I reached home, I tweeted the whole incident and tagged the police, women's helpline, and government. But there was no response. Not even an automated message. When I managed to reach out to the police, they said you have to come to the police station to lodge an FIR," Ms Singh said.

Police said they were working to identify the perpetrator through CCTV footage and would arrest him soon.