MUMBAI: A homemaker from Vile Parle (east) and a model from Juhu were victims of stalking in separate incidents over the weekend. The police have managed to track down and arrest the stalker in the Juhu case-a dancer, Tinkesh Singh-while the homemaker is yet to lodge an FIR.
According to the homemaker's family, she was stalked for nearly 25 minutes while she was walking back home from the market around 9.45pm. "My mother had walked some distance from a food store, when she realised she had forgotten to collect change. So, she went back to the shop. At the time, she noticed a young man carrying a backpack staring at her. She ignored him and resumed her journey home," the 45-year-old woman's son told TOI.
She reached a junction near Utkarsh Mandal, a well-lit Vile Parle area. "My mother saw the man once again. This time, she was concerned as she was certain he had followed her all the way from the food store. She decided to wait for some time at the junction to shake him off. But the man waited as well," the son said. She called up her husband, asking him to reach the junction. "My father wanted to confront the stalker, but my mother wouldn't let him as she feared the man was armed. The stalker crept behind a paan shop on the opposite side of the road, and started clicking pictures of my parents. Onlookers asked my mother if she needed help as by then, several people had noticed the stalker," the son said. The woman called the police, who took 45 minutes to arrive. All this time, the stalker continued to stare at her and make gestures at her husband. Spotting the police, he took to his heels. "My parents had clicked some pictures of the man, but most are unclear as he kept moving around. We gave the pictures to the police and tweeted them to the Mumbai Police handle. We did not lodge a complaint as the cops said they would inform us once the man was traced," the son said.
Another man held in juhu for pursuing model
In a separate incident, on Saturday, a model (28) complained to the police that dancer Tinkesh Singh stalked her and threatened to kill her. She had gone to a Juhu restaurant around 3pm when she noticed Singh staring at her. She recollected spotting him six months ago and at that time too he was staring at her. The model didn't know him and started to leave the restaurant. Singh followed suit, trying to converse with her.
"The model told Singh to leave her alone. He was furious and said he would kill her once she reached Prithvi theatre," said a police officer. The model dialled 100. Meanwhile a relative met her and learnt of the stalker. He overpowered Singh and handed him to the police. The model told officers she used to frequent the theatre and restaurants around it. She suspects Singh may have stalked her many times without her noticing.
Illustration for representational purpose.