According to the complaint filed by the 34-year-old woman, Bhaven Parekh stared at her lustily and touched her inappropriately when she asked him to make way for her
Officials from Marine Drive police station arrested a 48-year-old businessman for allegedly molesting a 34-year-old woman at the Garware Club on Sunday. The accused, a resident of Marine Drive, was identified as Bhaven Parekh.
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The complainant, a Colaba resident and a member of the club, had gone there for dinner with her husband around 11:30 pm on Saturday. Parekh, who is an acquaintance of the complainant’s husband, was having dinner at a nearby table.
In her statement, the woman claimed that around 12:30 am, she went to the washroom, and saw Parekh, the on-duty restaurant manager and a few other men blocking its entrance. She alleged that when she requested the group to make way for her, Parekh asked her to ‘relax’ and stared at her lustily.
She added that Parekh touched her inappropriately. Shocked at what Parekh had done, the woman lashed out at him. However, instead of apologising, Parekh became aggressive and started yelling at her. The woman then called security staffers and asked them to escort Parekh away from the spot.
The complainant then went back to her table and informed her husband about the incident. Suddenly, Parekh appeared at their table and began staring at the couple angrily. The two then went to the manager and complained about Parekh’s behaviour, following which he was asked to pay the bill and leave the club premises. But a defiant Parekh started arguing with the couple.
Fed up of his misbehaviour, the couple left the club and lodged a complaint against Parekh at the Marine Drive police station. The case was registered under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint) and 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the IPC. Parekh was produced in the Esplanade Magistrate Court and was remanded in police custody till April 21.
An officer from the Marine Drive police station said, “We arrested the accused following the woman’s complaint. We will scrutinise the CCTV footage retrieved from the club to ascertain what exactly happened between the accused and the complainant.” Despite repeated attempts, Garware club officials rema-ined unavailable for comment.
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