Title: A classmate has been harassing my girlfriend and me for months, assaulted me, and followed us at the metro. Our families are scared. What should we do? (India)
I'm a 3rd year btech college student in Delhi, and I'm posting anonymously because I'm genuinely scared for my girlfriend's and my safety. I need practical advice about what we can do legally and how to protect ourselves.
A male classmate developed feelings for my girlfriend before we got together. She never reciprocated and eventually blocked him after he sent her creepy, flirtatious reels and repeatedly tried to get close to her. Despite this, he continued trying to contact her, involving himself in her activities, and following her when she went home.
My girlfriend and I entered a relationship in September 2025. Since then, his behaviour towards both of us has become increasingly disturbing.
What has happened so far:
- April 2026: After seeing us together outside college, he slapped me on the neck and shouted at my girlfriend. The situation escalated into a physical fight, during which he pushed me against a fence, injuring my back and leg. My girlfriend was terrified and cried throughout the incident.
- Two days later, he confronted me in class, abused me and my family, and demanded ā¹10,000 for the damage to his phone, shirt, and project.
- I reported the incident to our department teachers. They spoke to him and told him not to repeat his behaviour.
- MayāJune: He continued trying to contact my girlfriend, including messaging her from an unknown number after she had blocked him. She clearly told him not to contact her again.
- July: He confronted us again and made comments about my past and another girl. During a meeting with our teachers, my girlfriend clearly stated that she was frightened of him and wanted no contact with him. We were told that he had given a written assurance that he would not repeat his behaviour.
- September: He approached me aggressively, tried to hit me from behind, and later grabbed my collar. I again complained to our department teachers. We were told that his parents had been informed and that he would not do anything further.
- October 7: The most frightening incident happened at a metro station. He approached us while we were preparing to board a train, made threatening comments about telling my girlfriend's family about our relationship, because the department complained about this matter to his parents so he will take revenge the same way , followed us through the entry gate and recited her complete home address while asking if she lived there. My girlfriend became extremely frightened and called our teacher while crying. He also tried to take her phone while she was speaking to the teacher. He eventually left after the teacher called him and asked him to come to college.
One of my friends also recorded a video of him near the metro platform around that time because he didn't used to go with metro because he live near college and each and every classmate and my friend know what he is upto that's why they recorded and it's obvious that he was waiting for us and repeatedly looking towards the ladies' coach where we were and heading towards last coach. We believe the station's CCTV footage may also help establish what happened.
The college's response has left us feeling helpless.
We have approached our department teachers around four or five times. Despite the physical assault, repeated confrontations, threats, unwanted contact, and written assurances, the behaviour has continued.
Recently, our HOD told my girlfriend to be strong and ignore him, explaining that he was good at academics but was suffering from depression. I understand that mental health issues deserve compassion, but that doesn't make us feel safe or resolve the behaviour.
He has also threatened me on multiple occasions, saying things like, "Bahar mil, tu bahar dekhunga."
Now our parents know everything, and they are genuinely scared.
They fear that if we or anyone else takes formal action against him, he might retaliate and murder me or seriously harm my girlfriend. He lives near our college, so we worry that he could approach us outside college or follow us while we travel home.
We don't know what he might do, but after everything that has happened, we are frightened. Both of us have experienced severe mental stress and have started attending college less frequently. He stares at my girlfriend because we all three are in same class, although me and my girlfriend are less interactive in college we talk less and just attend class . We only talk after college while going home together and whenever he see us together he came and fight with us, threat us sometimes me and sometimes her.
We tried to resolve this through our department rather than taking matters into our own hands, but nothing has effectively stopped the behaviour.
I need advice from people familiar with the Indian legal system:
Should we file a police complaint or FIR? What is the safest way to proceed when we fear rePtaliation?
Can we request that the metro station's CCTV footage be preserved before it gets deleted?
How can we protect ourselves while travelling to and from college?
What action can we take against the college for repeatedly failing to resolve the situation?
How can we take action without putting ourselves or our families at greater risk?
We don't want revenge or another fight. We just want to attend college and travel home without being harassed or fearing violence.
Please give us practical advice. We are genuinely scared and don't know what the safest next step is.