Man sunbathes in the nude at Sinhagad fort, arrested

PUNE: An assistant engineer with a public broadcasting agency was arrested by the Pune rural police on Sunday for soaking in the sun while sitting nude in the backyard of the agency’s high power transmission facility atop the Sinhagad fort, a popular tourist spot located about 30km from here.
A group of youngsters from a social organisation, including women, who had gone to the fort to clean it of waste left behind by visitors, were stunned to see the man idling in the buff on a chair outside the facility around 8.30am. The man rushed inside when the group confronted him. Swapnil Jambhale (23), a member of the group who later lodged a complaint, told the police that the man returned with a towel wrapped around his waist. He told the youngsters that he was suffering from a skin problem and needed exposure to sunlight to get his natural supply of Vitamin D.

Haveli police inspector Vishwamber Golde told TOI, “We have arrested the man for an offence punishable under sections 295-A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code.”

When contacted, a senior officer from the broadcasting agency said, “We have heard about the incident. The person works with us but we haven’t got any details yet from the police relating to the FIR lodged against him. All we know, for now, is that the man suffers from some skin problem.”

Golde said, “The group of youngsters, including Jambhale and 15 others, were moving around the backyard of the agency’s transmission facility when they saw the man sitting on a chair with no clothes. When they questioned him, he ran in and returned with a towel around his waist. In his complaint, Jambhale has said that the women in the group have seen the man sitting naked on previous occasions too.”

“The man has told us that he is suffering from some skin problem and needed exposure to sunlight for Vitamin D. We will verify this with experts and seek his medical history,” he added.