Hyderabad: A woman allegedly caught a man masturbating while she was exercising at the cycling track at Hyderabad’s Outer Ring Road (ORR) on Monday, April 27.
In a video the woman posted, she said that around 6:15 am, when she came for a run, she found the man allegedly “jerking off while the track was crowded.”
“I wish my camera was on so that I could capture his face,” she said.
Following the incident, the woman followed the accused, who was trying to get away from her. Pointing to her attire, the woman asked, “I was running, what am I supposed to wear?” She raised concerns over safety in the city, adding that she goes to the cycling track only after sunrise.
The woman said that she doesn’t feel safe travelling while wearing the exercise gear. “I don’t feel safe taking an auto or bike ride because these drivers keep staring at me, isn’t Hyderabad supposed to be a safe space?” she said.
Hyderabad among 10 safest cities in India, but data doesn’t tell full story
The incident highlights a broader topic on how women experience the city despite its relatively safer reputation, with the city featuring among the ten safest cities for women in India, according to the National Annual Report and Index on Women’s Safety (NARI) 2025, released by the National Commission for Women.
However, the same report underscores that official statistics often tell only part of the story.
Nationally, 40 per cent of women in urban India reported feeling “unsafe” or “not so safe,” and harassment experiences far exceeded official crime figures, with young women between the ages of 18 and 24 facing double the rate reported by older women, the NARI survey showed.
At the city level, Hyderabad’s SHE Teams addressed 3,817 cases during 2025, catching 374 offenders red-handed and handling several incidents through counselling, warnings and legal action.
The Hyderabad City Police is yet to respond to the viral video. The woman’s video has since been shared widely on social media, drawing calls for better policing and surveillance at public exercise spaces in the city.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Mohammed Baleegh | 
