The woman just gave her name to a stranger while walking her dog on Marine Drive. He finds her address and starts stalking her, sends her lingerie and continues to harass her despite bail being rejected
Pradosh Naik
I can't believe he is roaming free while we live in fear. We didn't know a simple conversation would lead to so much trauma," said the mother of a 33-year-old SoBo gallerist about the man booked for stalking her daughter. He continues to harass them after his anticipatory bail was rejected. After sending lewd texts, obscene packages and demanding sexual favours, he even used the family's business email ID on July 28 to place online orders.
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The Churchgate resident, who works as an art gallerist, first interacted with the alleged stalker, who has since been identified as Pradosh Naik, in October 2018. She was out on a walk with her dog at Marine Drive, when Naik stopped her to inquire about her pet. He also asked for the 33-year-old's name, which she disclosed. Two months after this meeting, in December 2018, the woman's nightmare began. Her mother told mid-day, "Sometime in December 2018, he called on our landline and asked for my daughter. Since he refused to reveal his name, I disconnected the call. We didn't think much about it."
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On December 28, 2018, the complainant received a WhatsApp message from a number which was under Naik's name. He introduced himself as a civil engineer who is unmarried. Naik also allegedly said he is a BCCI level 1 umpire in Goa and gave information about his Facebook account. The woman identified him as the man she had met on Marine Drive. Her mother said, "This got us a little worried because he had her contact number. My daughter forwarded the details to me. She deleted his messages, blocked him and hoped this would put an end to the saga." But in May and June, Naik contacted her on Facebook Messenger and kept making video and voice calls. In an audio message, he allegedly said, "I want to f*** you."
In June, the stalker had sent a note with a package that contained underwear
Obscene package
"He'd also sent some obscene voice messages. A few months later, he sent her a parcel through the post office. This is when we panicked. He now had our address. He was persistent and I was worried that we were dealing with a mentally troubled person," the woman's mother said. The complainant received the parcel on June 15 with a handwritten note that said, "Hi darling! How are you? This is a special gift for you. Three panties exclusively for you. I hope you will like it.... please wear it?" Upon inquiring, the complainant got to know that the parcel had been sent from the Kalbadevi post office. Seven days after the first parcel was sent, the complainant received another one, which also contained undergarments. Through the voice notes sent by Naik, the family inferred that he had sent the packages. "I worry for the safety of my daughters. He [stalker] has all of our contact details. What if he lands up at our door? What if he is lurking downstairs and takes the daughters after they leave home? My mind is in overdrive. I cannot sleep till both of my kids are home at night," said the mother.
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FIR registered
The woman and her mother then approached their family friend, advocate Manoj M Mirchandani, who helped them file an FIR against the accused. It was registered on June 15 at the Marine Drive police station under Section 354 (D) (stalking) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the
IT Act. But Naik somehow managed to secure anticipatory bail. "Upon learning that the accused had already managed to get an anticipatory bail, I moved court and got it cancelled on June 23. He [Naik] continues to be at large," Mirchandani told mid-day. He added, "The local police, instead of acting swiftly and promptly by understanding the sensitivity of the case, were dragging their feet by giving lame excuses of bandobast for an Assembly session going on back then."
Harassing family again
The complainant's mother said, "I am shocked to hear he was granted anticipatory bail. Marine Drive is not safe for women. Mumbai is not safe. It has been one and a half months [since the FIR was registered] and I cannot believe he is roaming scot-free while we live in fear. The uneasiness and anxiety is killing us. We did not know a casual conversation would lead to so much trauma." The complainant said, "I will have to be careful about speaking to people in the future. I wonder how he got bail and what he is going to do next. After knowing we have approached the police, he is now using our business e-mail ID to place orders online. The uncertainty is killing us. I wish the police and the law would work faster, especially when they talk so much about providing extra protection to women." The orders the complainant is talking about were placed on July 28. Naik ordered a wrist watch from a website. The one-time password for the order was sent on the complainant's business e-mail address. But since he could not access the ID, the order was not completed. He tried to do this three times before giving up and placing a cash on delivery order to the address of his home in Goa.
The other side
Appearing for Naik in court, his advocate Vaibhav Ugle, said the accused is a government servant, working for the Public Works Department (PWD) in Goa. He said that Naik has no connection to the two packages the complainant received at her home. They did not mention the name of the sender. Ugle said the time the parcel was sent, Naik was in Goa and had no reason to be in Mumbai and deposit the parcel at the post office in Kalbadevi. Regarding the WhatsApp messages, he said Naik is ready to surrender his phone. Moreover, Ugle said Naik has denied meeting the woman. He is ready to cooperate with the police and has promised not to tamper with any evidence and attend the court. Ugle also informed the court that Naik has no any criminal history. The additional public prosecutor Jyoti Sawant, opposed Naik's application stating that the complainant has been receiving pornographic videos from the mobile number of the accused. Sawant said that the mobile phone of the accused has not been seized yet. His location is yet to be traced. Opposing his anticipatory bail, she said his presence is required at the investigation agency to look into the details of the crime.
Court observes
Justice M A Baraliya stated in his July 24 order (mid-day has a copy) that there remains no doubt that Naik is the accused who has been continuously harassing the complainant through social media. There is no reason for complainant to lie about receiving the parcel with undergarments, the judge said. The printouts of all those messages are also available with the case diary. Justice Baraliya said the accused is involved in stalking the complainant directly and indirectly through social media and his presence is required with the investigating agency for custodial interrogation. Rejecting Naik's bail plea, the judge said, "The culprits of sexual assault are required to be thoroughly inquired by the police machinery. So this is the fit case where the interim protection granted to him can be discontinued and vacated. The anticipatory bail application stands rejected. (sic).
Police speak
Nishith Mishra, additional commissioner (south) said, "With the honourable court rejecting the anticipatory bail that was granted earlier to the wanted accused, he is now out of legal protection. We will go all the way to apprehend the accused soon. Our investigation is underway."
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