#TalkingStalking | My Stalker Knew Where I Lived: Priya Malik

Consent is paramount. When will this country understand this?

Actor Priya Malik talks about being stalked.

(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Priya Malik)

Stalking is scary. It's like having someone tracing your entire digital footprint. And now, with the amount of information trail we leave behind, it can get rather frightening. I've been stalked a lot – both in the real and virtual world. Recently, someone I once shared a cab with (Ola Share), found me on Twitter, tweeted about how bummed he was that he missed out on a chance to speak with me.

I sent a generic response out as a courtesy. The next thing you know, he had taken my number from the driver, looked me up on Truecaller (which is how he got my email id and hence Twitter) and then he WhatsApped me late at night. I was furious at someone having my number without my consent. It was scary because he even knew where I lived.

But the most frightening bit was when I politely explained it to him and blocked him, he kept emailing me about how he didn't understand why I was angry. He even went to the extent of “advising” me to not use my actual number to book cabs, saying that drivers can often misuse such information. In reality, it was him, my apparently well educated co-passenger, who was misusing this information, and clearly did not understand the concept of consent or stalking.

When I contacted the Police, they asked me for specific details, which I obviously didn't have. They took down whatever details I had and asked me to intimate them if he gets in touch with me again.

(#TalkingStalking: Have you ever been stalked? Share your experience with The Quint and inspire others to shatter the silence surrounding stalking. Send your stories to [e-mail] or WhatsApp @ [phone].)