Venture investor Mahesh Murthy was on Friday arrested by the city police on charges of stalking and sexually harassing a Delhi-based woman and using obscene language while interacting with her on whatsApp.
Acting on the victim woman's complaint forwarded by the National Commission of Woman (NCW) to the Mumbai police, the Khar police arrested Murthy from his Bandra (west) residence on Friday morning, on his return from Goa where he was away for some days.
“He has been arrested under various charges including molestation and sexual harassment,” Mumbai Police official spokesperson, Deputy Police Commissioner Deepak Devraj said. Murthy, who is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Seedfund, has been booked under 354-D (stalking), 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and section 67 the IT Act (Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form).
The section 354-D reads thus: “Any man follows a woman and contacts, or attempts to contact such woman to foster personal interaction repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest by such woman; or monitors the use by a woman of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication, commits the offence of stalking”.
On December 25 last year, a Delhi-based woman entrepreneur had filed a complaint against Murthy with the NCW, which forward the complaint to the Mumbai Police.
The Khar police had an FIR against Murthy on December 29.
The victim woman had approached the NCW sometime last year, alleging that Murthy had used “objectionable, derogatory, obscene signs and sexual remarks” against her on social media.
Sources said that the NCW had received one more complaint from another woman last year alleging similar criminal act indulged in by Murthy against the complainant woman.
On his part, Murthy apologised for some of his posts. However, the NCW decided that action needed to be taken against Murthy, in view of the fact that he had sent similar objectionable messages to a few other women.