Noida Police has booked 10 men under IPC Section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) among other sections, and arrested six of them. (Video grab)“Ye jo step liya gaya hai ye sirf mahilayon ki wajah se liya gaya hai (this step has only been taken because of the women here),” said one of the several residents of Noida’s Grand Omaxe society on Monday, referring to the FIR against Shrikant Tyagi, booked for abusing and pushing a woman on Friday.
In fact, it was after a video went viral, showing a woman standing up to an abusive Tyagi, that police and BJP leaders jumped into action. On Sunday night, when Tyagi’s alleged henchmen landed up at the society “to support him”, many women from the society again came out and faced off with them.
On Monday, society residents Swati Agrawal, Namita Singh, Mahima Joshi, Priyanka and Anna were among those fielding questions about the incident and its fallout.
“The action (of demolishing encroachment by Tyagi) that the (Noida) Authority has taken is welcome. But this should have been done two years ago. Authorities are lax; it’s only after yesterday that they’ve woken up,” said one of the women on Monday morning.
Swati Agrawal, who is in her 40s and has been residing at Grand Omaxe for the past 10 years with her husband and daughter, said Tyagi’s behaviour has led to several complaints being filed in the past. An author, she was a member of the apartment owners association (AOA) in 2019, when the encroachment first began. “He would also use the gym at odd hours, and when he was asked not to, he would respond rudely. He would carry his bouncers to the swimming pool each time he went for a swim. Women residents would feel uncomfortable, but when he was asked not to do so, he called me personally and threatened me. Can you imagine?” Agrawal said.
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“We are waiting for him to be arrested. It should not happen that he gets released, comes back and starts troubling us again,” Agrawal said.
The women also credited their friend who stood up to Tyagi on Thursday. “It has been three days, gunday tak aa gaye (even goons showed up), but he hasn’t been caught… We can’t just clap our hands about the demolition that took place and be happy,” another woman said.
The women also said they could have never imagined a group of men entering their upscale society as they did on Sunday night. Noida Police has booked 10 men under IPC Section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) among other sections, and arrested six of them.
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First published on: 08-08-2022 at 08:15:55 pm