11 November,2017 10:50 AM IST | Mumbai | Suraj Ojha
The girl tries valiantly to catch hold of the pervert twice before he escaped from narrow street; cops scanning CCTV footage
An unknown pervert is on the run after molesting a 17-year-old athlete around 9.30 pm on Thursday at JB Nagar in Andheri, while she was out for an evening walk. The teenager had caught the molester after hitting him with her mobile phone, but he managed to escape. An FIR has been registered at the Andheri police station and cops are now scanning CCTV footage to identify the accused.
Representation pic
Recalling the incident, the athlete told mid-day, "As per my schedule, I left from home for an evening walk. I started around 8 pm and walked around 2 kilometres in the area where I reside. After that, when I was on my way home, I suddenly felt someone following me and began walking faster. But the person following me increased his speed as well. When I entered a narrow alley, he approached me from behind and tightly hugged me."
Hit the molester
"Four to five of my friends and I go for the evening walk everyday, but yesterday [Thursday] no one was available. When I entered the narrow road where no one else was present, I heard footsteps, which sounded like someone running. I stepped aside to give space to the runner, but he hugged me from behind. However, I defended myself by hitting him with my mobile phone three to four times. When he tried to escape, I caught him," she added.
The teenager then decided to take him to the police, but "he bowed and pulled my leg, because of which I fell and my mobile phone fell a few feet away from me. He fled while I tried to get up and take the phone. I followed him, but he disappeared," she recalled.
Scanning CCTV
Prithvi Maske, an activist said, "When I heard about the incident, I immediately took her and her parents to the Andheri police station to register an FIR."
An officer from the Andheri police station said, "Following the girl's complaint, we registered an FIR against the unknown person under sections 354, 354 (D) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 8 and 12 of the POCSO Act. We are scanning the CCTV footage from the route where the man began following her."
Sources said in the CCTV footage, police found a person following the girl for around half a kilometre. Then, the man was seen running, which was probably after the incident. There was no CCTV in the place where the incident occurred.
