Stalkers on the prowl

A creak of the door, foot falls heard in the corridor behind you, the phone rings and the caller says “I love you, I will kill you”. The first question that crops up is “Am I being stalked”?

Who is a stalker? A stalker is a person who follows or watches another person over a period of time in a way which is annoying and frightening.  A person who derives sadistic pleasure when his victim cringes with fear. This tendency to get under the skin unnerves even the strongest person.

Though India was once supposed to be free from such problems but after the movie ‘Darr’, some sadists got ideas. Many theories have been written on this phenomenon but no one has come up with a cure for this mental and emotional sickness, as it is called. There are a lot of people who have this tendency but the most prominent of them are jilted lovers who try to scare their ex-lovers into coming back.

The psychological maniacs who go around stalking people for no apparent reason do it just for the taste of power. More than 90 per cent of these stalkers are personally known to their victims and appear normal when confronted by the authorities. They live a dual life as if they have some kind of multiple personality disorder.  As insecurity increases amongst people so does the number of stalkers.

They know the daily routine of their victims and are angry if this cosy set up changes. It is a proven fact that out of every five stalkers, four are men who mostly stalk females but in certain cases even men are targeted. The stalkers seem to be like shadows, who do make themselves known but physically disappear into oblivion.

A new class of stalkers is emerging with time changing. Most of them are harmless; only in rare and extreme cases is a murder committed.

In several countries, stalking is not considered a crime till some serious consequence takes place. But if a person does feel insecure and the feeling of being victimized by a stalker (or any one) does come, it is advisable not to venture out or stay indoors alone. Talk to a friend or a colleague to walk you home if it gets late and notify the police at the first instance you get such a threat from someone.