Sweet vine, bitter berries

Today let me retell a true story that Mallika Sarabhai brought to our notice last Sunday (“Where can this woman be safe?” DNA Ahmedabad edition, October 30, 2011, page 4).

Urmila (not her real name), a married woman with a young  son, was working in the HR department a prestigious teaching hospital in Ahmedabad. She was happy with her work. Everything was going well for her.

At work she bumped into a doctor who worked for the Chief Justice of Gujarat. He was not only from her caste but also from her village. The occasional chat with him gave her joy in the otherwise sombre atmosphere of the hospital. Soon the doctor friend would often come around at the end of the work day and offer her a ride home. She had no hesitation in accepting this favour. They could chat on the drive home. Once in a while they would stop on the way for an ice cream. This was beautiful. Urmila was grateful for his warmth and selfless friendship.

One evening the doctor offered a ride as usual, but asked her whether she would mind if he stopped at a friend’s place for a few minutes to drop off something. Of course she didn’t mind. The doctor’s friend, a man, opened the door and invited them in. He gave her a glass of juice and asked her to make herself comfortable in the sitting room while the two men went in to another room for a discussion.

Urmila doesn’t recall anything that happened in that house after that. By the time she was dropped off outside her house a few hours later, she had just woken up from a deep sleep. She found it strange but said nothing about it to anyone.

The following day the doctor friend met her at work as usual and said that he had a surprise for her. She was eager to know what it was. He whipped out his cellphone and showed her a picture. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She looked again. The picture showed her performing oral sex on him. “Now you are in my hands,” gloated the doctor.

Urmila felt sick, violated, frightened. Somehow she got home. She stayed in bed for several days. Her husband and son were puzzled but had no clue.

The doctor friend called Urmila one morning and asked her to get back to the hospital and to ‘service’ a friend of his. She obliged.  She felt she had no choice. This went on for a few months. Then she quit the job.

Finally she picked up enough courage to bring together her family and close friends. She told them what happened. They were horrified but sympathetic. They decided to approach the police and to lodge a formal complaint.

You can read the rest of the story – the denial of justice – in Mallika Sarbahai’s column. I would like to focus on how deftly the doctor used persuasion techniques for his admittedly evil plans.

Readers, would you like to write in your comments and analysis? I’ll give my views in next week’s post.

Photo credit: http://www.istockphoto.com/