The 2012 Nirbhaya rape case has not only changed the judicial face of India but has also left an everlasting impact on individuals. One such individual was Dipesh Tank for whom the incident was unfathomable. He was driven by thoughts of what exactly could be the cause of such a brutal incident and how could he solve the problem at the grassroots level.
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With an increase in the cases of eve-teasing and molestation, people have started normalising it. It is a common sight to see a girl getting harassed or eve-teased at railway stations by people who have boarded a train as they know they're not going to get caught.
" It disturbed me to a great extent when I saw such sights. These eve-teasers and molester's audacity will keep on increasing if their deeds are not followed by strict actions. They won't think twice before taking this forward. The thought that these people can be potential rapists disturbed and I wanted to get them caught along with proves."
Being raised by a strong mother went a long way in shaping his thoughts but nothing came easy his way. From finance to violence, Dipesh had to face his set of problems.
"In those days one couldn't buy a spy goggle in India and I had to ask one of my friends to get it from the US. However, the cost of the goggle was ₹23,000 and I was earning a meager ₹25,000. I still bought it and started recording videos of these people. I coordinated with the police and informed them about the station, train timing, coach number of the eve teaser and they would catch him on the next station. My recorded footages served as proof and they were arrested by the police. Some people understood that it was me because of which they were falling in trouble and often resulted in violent encounters with them. However, it didn't stop me from doing what I wanted to and I started War Against Railway Rowdies 'WARR'. "
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This wasn't the end of Tank's social endeavours, he further started 'Youth For People' which is a group of youngsters which come together for certain emergency causes. They can be termed as the 'sleeper cells' for a social cause. He has further started a notebook drive which bridges the gap between rural necessities and urban luxuries. He provides thousands of notebooks for underprivileged kids in the tribal areas of Jawahar and Mokhada which is about 100kms from Mumbai.
"I firmly believe in Malala's words- 1 pen, 1 book, and 1 kid can change the world and I'm just doing my bit one step at a time."
You can check out his video in Marathi here
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