Mumbai: Fed up with a man constantly flashing late at night, a 24-year-old Goregaon resident sought the help of her brothers and locals, who dragged him to the police station. The accused, identified as Jayesh Rathod (33) from Malad, was arrested.
The victim, a law student, stays in a building that overlooks the skywalk outside Goregaon railway station, and studies till early morning while sitting by the window of her bedroom every day.
The victim told The Hindu that she had tweeted about the nuisance, which occurred almost daily, to the Mumbai Police last month, and had filed a web complaint.
In the early hours of Friday last week, the victim was studying with her sister when she saw the man flashing at her on the skywalk. She first ignored him, but when he continued making indecent gestures, she told her family about it.
“When I had complained earlier, the police did reach the spot, but the man was gone by then. This time, my brothers rushed to the skywalk and caught hold of him,” she said.
Hearing the commotion, locals called the police control room, and they took the accused to Goregaon police station.
The victim alleged that that the police initially tried to be lenient towards the accused, saying that he is mentally unstable, and only registered an FIR after an hour.
Denying the allegation, senior police inspector Dhanaji Nalawade said, “We just had to verify the complaint before taking action. Procedure has to be followed and that takes time. Once we completed our inquires, we placed the accused under arrest.”
Mr. Nalawade said, “The victim had been facing this harassment on a regular basis, and the fact that she showed courage and initiative is commendable.”
Mr. Rathod has been charged with outraging a woman’s modesty under the Indian Penal Code. The police are inquiring to find out if he has a criminal record. This is the second instance of a sex offender being caught due to the courage of a victim. In October, a 23-year-old resident of Nallasopara boarded a train bound for Sea Woods at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. A 30-year-old man allegedly flashed at her through the bars of the adjoining compartment for handicapped commuters. The victim took a video of the act, which helped the police identify and apprehend the accused.