Alert onlookers thwart daylight attack on young woman
A 19-year-old woman was attacked by her acquaintance at Sadashiv Peth area on Tuesday morning before alert onlookers apprehended the assailant
Pune: In another incident of violence against women, a 19-year-old woman pursuing a fashion designing course was attacked by her acquaintance at Sadashiv Peth area on Tuesday morning. The video of the attack has gone viral on social media.
The alert onlookers apprehended the assailant, who was trying to escape after attacking the victim, and handed him over to the Vishrambaug police.
According to the police, the accused has been identified as Shantanu Laxman Jadhav, 21, of Mulshi.
The accused approached the young woman to have a conversation when she was driving a pillion on a bike with her friend near Nagpur Hotel at around 9:15 am on Tuesday. When she refused, the accused took out a sickle from his bag and attacked the girl. The victim’s male friend intervened and resisted the attacker enabling the woman to escape. Later, when the male friend ran away from the attacker, the latter ran after the young woman and hit the weapon on her head and hand.
The CCTV camera installed at a nearby locality captured the incident that took place 300 metres from the Peru Gate police chowki.
Senior inspector Dadasaheb Gaikwad, incharge, Vishrambaug police station, said, “The accused wanted to talk to the girl and attacked her when she refused. We have apprehended the accused.”
According to the police, the accused and the victim were students of Class 12 at a college in Kothrud. However, when the young woman did not want to continue the friendship because of his behaviour, the latter began to stalk and tried to contact her.
CCTV footage shows the girl riding on a two-wheeler with her friend, while the accused is seen walking on the road, attempting to engage in a conversation with her. The male friend disembarks from the two-wheeler to confront the attacker, but the latter retrieves a sharp weapon from his bag and initiates an assault on the friend before chasing the girl.
The victim’s mother said that they had previously informed the accused’s parents about his stalking and harassment of their daughter. Despite his promises to change, his behaviour persisted, prompting the young woman’s family to threaten a police complaint instigating him to assault their daughter.
Satish Naul, an aspirant of Maharashtra Public Service Commision (MPSC) Exam who helped to prevent the attack and nab the accused, said, “I was standing outside the study room, when I saw a man running behind a girl with koyta (sickle). Initially, we thought that he might be from the koyta gang and returned to the room. However, when we heard the cries of the woman, we ran towards the spot.”
Dinesh Mandavi, another MPSC aspirant, said, “The locals wanted to beat up the accused after we overpowered him. But we requested them to hand him over to the police.”
“We made a human chain to protect the accused and safely handed him over to the local police station,” said Dinesh.
Residents alleged that there was a late response by the police as no one was present at the Perugate Police Chowki. Satish said, “No one was there at the chowki to attend to us. Police personnel came after almost 15-20 minutes.”
Sandeep Singh Gill, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Zone 1, said, “When I reached the crime scene, locals told me that the police arrived after almost 15 minutes. The officials told me that they had gone for ‘attendance marking’ carried out between 9 am and 10 am. However, this is an excuse as we expect immediate police response and will investigate the matter.”
This incident follows the tragic case of 26-year-old MPSC exam topper Darshana Pawar who was killed by Rahul Handore at Rajgad Fort on June 12 after she rejected his marriage proposal.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition Ajit Pawar tweeted, “Perhaps, the home minister is too busy playing politics and not getting time to handle the law and order in the state. Pune is known for education but now crime has increased...The city had never been so violent.”