Thane: The skywalks in Thane city overlooking the Viviana Mall, R-Mall & Eternity Mall have become a hotspot for eve teasing recently. Four days back one miscreant tried to molest a 17-year-old girl finding her alone on Viviana mall skywalk but was later arrested by the police after the complaint was filed by the girl and her mother. Now the Thane city police has appealed to all the women from Thane to come ahead and register a complaint against the eve-teasers and miscreants on the skywalks of Viviana, R-Mall and Eternity Mall and that too without any fear because the complainants name will not be disclosed.
The Viviana Mall skywalk is just 1.5km from Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde's residence and is in close vicinity of former cabinet minister and NCP leader Jitendra Awhad's bunglow in Thane.
Earlier an Instagram user named nagipurav posted on the microblogging site that, " Hie quick reminder for every girl who lives in Thane please do not travel alone on skywalks or when the skywalk is empty, especially the one near R-Mall...please!!
Replying to nagipurav, one instagram user wrote @mumbaipolice all these incidents are at the same place, each one worse than the other. Still there isn't one single CCTV camera on or near the Viviana skywalk says a lot doesn't it? please take action
m4heeved posted once I was leaving Viviana Mall at around 9:15 max 9:30 in a crop top waiting for an auto just like everyone else...the guy rejected me then stared at me for a whole two minutes top to bottom (while the other autos were waiting behind continuously honking)but the man didn't bulge the entire time...that whole area is unsafe at any given time and this happened in December 2021.
On Monday, August 15 activists led by former Shiv-Sena corporator and Yuva Sena functionary Purvesh Sarnaik and few colleagues assembled near the Viviana Mall skywalk following complaints from women about anti-social elements in the area. Even Thane city police were worried about various posts on Instagram regarding the anti-social elements in the area.
Purvesh Sarnaik said, "When I visited the Viviana mall skywalks I was shocked to see that the skywalks were unguarded and it can be an easy spot for the miscreants and eve-teasers. The situation at R-Mall and Eternity Mall skywalks in Thane posed similar safety hazards. I can say that the skywalks have become a nightmare for women. I have demanded with the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) that there should be lights on the skywalks and also CCTV should be installed on it along with 24X7 security. We have informed Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde about the situation and he has assured that he will look into the matter on a priority basis."
The skywalks on the highways were built using Thane civic body funds for easy crossover. The local residents from the Thane area complained that there are no CCTVs and lights are often not operational.
Chaitanya Rangnekar, founder of Vimal Khanderao Rangnekar Pratishthan, Thane said, " The Thane city police have already started taking action against the eve-teasers and miscreants at skywalks on Viviana and R-Mall especially. The police will also be guarding the Eternity Mall in Thane too. I, as a Thanekar, request all the girls and women and also the concerned citizens to come ahead and inform us about any spots where eve-teasing and chances of other crimes are there and we through our NGO will raise the issues at police stations."
One of the senior police officers from Thane police station on the condition of anonymity said, " We have already started taking action against eve-teasers and miscreants who take advantage of dark and no CCTV and molest or stare at women at skywalks on Viviana and R-Mall. We have appealed to all the women and girls to come ahead and complain about the eve-teasers and miscreants on a priority basis and the action will be taken soon. Also the complainants should not fear while complaining because their names will not be disclosed. We have also requested the TMC officials to install CCTV on all the skywalks near Malls soon. We will be posting two police officials on each of the skywalks for patrolling."
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