A young software engineer will sweep the premises of a government-run hospital here for one month, in a novel punishment announced by the Andhra Pradesh High Court after the man was convicted of harassing two women.
M. Dinesh Kumar, 21, a software engineer working with Dell Computers, was
Thursday ordered by Justice B. Chandrakumar to sweep the hospital. The order came when the court was hearing Kumar's plea for anticipatory bail.
Asking the accused to surrender before the police, the judge told him to sweep the premises of Gandhi Hospital for one hour daily. He is allowed to choose the hour according to his convenience.
However, to ensure that the court order is complied with, the judge asked the superintendent of the hospital to maintain a register for Dinesh Kumar to mark his attendance daily.
What angered the court was the act of the techie in pulling the "dupattas" (scarves) of two girls. Dinesh Kumar and his friend Balarngasai, while going through Gautamnagar in Malkajgiri area here on a motorcycle March 21, harassed the girls.
While locals caught and beat up Balarangasai, Dinesh Kumar managed to escape. On a complaint by the girls' escort Venkatakrishna, police registered a case against the two under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Kumar.
The techie's plea for anticipatory bail was dismissed by the district court and he then approached the high court.
The judge directed the accused to surrender before the police within seven days and asked the police to release him on conditional bail.