Man arrested for exposing genitals, trying to molest woman in Kolkata

Das, 26-year-old carpenter, was arrested on Sunday from the city outskirts for making lewd gestures at young woman inside a gift shop and even revealing his private parts.

The incident took place around 10 days after a middleaged hawker was arrested in Kolkata for masturbating inside a bus in front of two women passengers, an incident that left the city shell-shocked.

In both incidents, the victims showed presence of mind and photographed the offenders with their phones which subsequently led to the arrests.

On Friday, May 18, Prasen Das, 25, allegedly came to a gift shop in the Bansdroni area in south Kolkata in the evening and started passing indecent comments at the woman, aged around 20, while standing at the door. It was raining heavily and there was nobody else inside the shop.

“Suddenly he entered the shop, unzipped his pants and exposed his private parts. He tried to grab my hand but I managed to free myself,” said the victim. An officer of Bansdroni police station, who did not want to be named, said the victim started shouting and quickly took some photographs of Das with her mobile phone. But the phone fell from her hands and broke. Das managed to escape.

Police somehow fixed the phone and retrieved the photos. Bansdroni police station circulated the photos and, after a twoday hunt for a man who otherwise did not have any criminal record, arrested Das from his residence at Sonarpur, almost 30 km from the spot where the crime took place.

Das is a carpenter. He will be produced in court on Monday. Police said Das used to frequent the Bansdroni area and went to the gift shop when he saw the woman alone out there.

Rising incidents of perverse behavior in public place has become the talking point in Kolkata and so has the courage shown by the victims.

KOLKATA:Pasen