MUMBAI: Two young women, with help from locals,
chased down a man who flashed them in
Goregaon (E) late on Thursday and handed him over to the police. They then went to Dindoshi police station post midnight to give their statements. The women said that the family of the accused hounded them at the police station to withdraw their complaint, but they did not give in to the pressure.
The incident took place outside a five-star hotel off the
Western Express Highway around 10.15pm when the 24-year-old complainant, who assists her father in their film production house, was meeting her 23-year-old friend. "We were chatting and the area was not secluded. I noticed a man who was talking on the phone standing nearby. My friend's back was towards him and she couldn't see him. But then I realized he was flashing and making obscene gestures," she said.
She immediately alerted her friend and told her to not panic and or move. On realising that the women had noticed his gestures, the accused disconnected his call and starting to walk away, but only after hurling some lewd comments, she said.
"We saw that he was walking towards Oberoi mall and decided to not let him get away. We followed him from the other side of the street. Meanwhile, a male friend who was supposed to meet us arrived and we told him what was going on," she said.
The accused realised he was being followed and took a sudden U-turn. "I ran towards a group of young men seated in a corner and sought help. They fetched some more people and chased down the accused," she said. The women then called the cops and handed him over.
The man has been identified as Salman Khan and is a resident of Pathanwadi in Malad. "Khan's relatives came to the police station and tried to convince us that he was a very religious man and couldn't have misbehaved with us. Only after we complained to a constable, did the relatives back off. We returned home only early on Friday," the complainant said.
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