A woman in Mumbai had to face harrowing time in the maximum city twice in a span of few hours – first at the hands of molesters and then at various police stations.
Early on Sunday morning, the young woman, who was out on the street with her boyfriend in search of cigarettes, was molested by a gang of three after being pushed into a parked tempo.
The trio also beat up her boyfriend and warned them of dire consequences if they complained to the police.
The couple had to approach as many as four police stations to register their complaint, which was finally registered at the Bandra police station.
The duo were questioned by around a dozen cops at different police stations, as per reports quoting the victim, and had to face questions like why was she dressed in a t-shirt and shorts in the middle of the night.
Worse, the questioning was done by all male officers, while the law clearly states that the statement of a female victim has to be taken down by a woman officer.
Also, the law stipulates that a woman can register complaint at any police station irrespective of the jurisdiction. However, in this case, the victim along with her boyfriend had to run from Sion police station to Dharavi and Shahu Nagar before finally managing to get their complaint registered at Bandra at 12.30 pm, nine hours after the incident.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria has ordered an inquiry into the incident, which happened on the Dharavi bridge near Raheja Hospital, as well as the treatment meted out to the couple by different police stations.
The Bandra police, meanwhile, have arrested all three accused in the case, identified as Pradeep Gawande (21), Abdul Shaikh (22) and Farhad Sayyad (21). All three were produced before a court and subsequently remanded to police custody.
