Two stalk, assault woman at Juhu Chowpatty, arrested

The complainant, who works as a baby sitter, had gone to Juhu Chowpatty with her two sisters. According to police, one of the sisters is pregnant.

The Santacruz police arrested two men for allegedly assaulting and stalking a woman at Juhu Chowpatty on Thursday. The accused – identified as Amit Verma, 27, and Rakesh Pal, 28 – work as security supervisor and security guard, respectively.

“We had a patrolling team near the location which was apprised of the situation. They reached the spot within five to ten minutes and arrested the accused,” said the officer. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

The complainant, who works as a baby sitter, had gone to Juhu Chowpatty with her two sisters. According to police, one of the sisters is pregnant. “After a stroll on the beach, when the women sat on a bench to have some snacks, they noticed the two men eyeing them,” said a police officer. “The men started smoking and taking selfies in a way that would capture the complainant in the photograph.”

When the complainant objected to this behaviour, the men abused her and passed vulgar comments. They then assaulted her, following which the woman contacted the police. “We had a patrolling team near the location which was apprised of the situation. They reached the spot within five to ten minutes and arrested the accused,” said the officer.

Verma and Pal have been charged with sections 354 D (punishment for stalking), 323(punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 509 (punishment for word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 34(act done by several person) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).