A phone call to newly sworn in Uttarakhand minister Prakash Pant helped save a woman who was being allegedly harassed by four men including staff members at the Directorate of Information in Dehradun.
Police said a couple from Pithoragarh had come to the Directorate of Information office on Sunday to appear in connection with the hearing of an RTI case on Monday.
They arrived late on Sunday night and two staff members on duty advised them to spend the night there itself.
When the couple agreed, the two staff members invited two of their friends to their office and together they allegedly started making indecent advances to the woman after dinner around 11pm.
When the woman resisted, they allegedly beat up the couple.
However, the husband managed to call the MLA from Pithoragarh and apprise him of the situation.
Acting promptly, Pant called up senior superintendent of police Sweety Aggarwal and asked her to rescue the couple.
The SSP immediately sent a team to the information office and all the four persons were arrested.They were sent to custody on Monday.
{{/usCountry}}The SSP immediately sent a team to the information office and all the four persons were arrested.They were sent to custody on Monday.
{{/usCountry}}They were identified as Jagmohan Singh Chauhan, Anil Rawat, Jagdish Singh and Hari Singh Petwal, said Raipur police station in-charge Pradeep Singh Rana.
Chauhan, Rawat and Petwal are information department employees while Jagdish sells tea outside the office, the official said.
When contacted, Pant said immediate action by police prevented an ugly incident.
Asked how he could pick up his phone at so late an hour, he said he always tries to be available on the phone.