Rejected for being ‘overweight’, Mumbai man stalks, threatens lawyer, arrested

The Colaba police on Thursday arrested a 33-year-old Dombivli resident for allegedly, stalking, abusing, threatening and harassing a 29-year-old lawyer, who met him through a matrimonial site, but later refused to marry him because he was “overweight”.

Vishawas Acharekar lives with his family in plush Palava Casa Rio Vitoria, Dombivli (East), and hails from a business family which owns five flats in Mumbai.

According to Colaba police, he met the woman in January. The complainant liked Acharekar’s photo and on his request went to meet him at his Dombivli home on January 26. “She told us that she was shocked to see him in person as he was ‘overweight’, and way different from the photo he had uploaded on the matrimonial site,” said a police officer.

The woman said Acharekar kept requesting her to meet him, but she refused. He even threatened to harm himself, if she didn’t meet him, the police said. Frustrated with the repeated harassment, she blocked his number. But this did not deter him, said police.

““Acharekar, who was saddened by his mother’s death last year, could not handle the refusal. He made several attempts to contact the woman from different unknown numbers. As she turned down his marriage proposal, he abused her and passed vulgar comments. He also threatened the woman and her father,” said the officer.

Acting on the woman’s complaint, the police arrested Acharekar and charged him with sections 354D (stalking), 504, 506 and 509 Indian Penal Code.