Man held for ‘molesting’ foreign student on train

While boarding the train, my colleague and I felt a hand run over our backs. I confronted the man, after which he pulled down his trousers. I shouted at him but no one else said a word.

THE COMPLAINANT

26-year-old Mankhurd resident was arrested by police officers at the Kurla government railway police (GRP) station for molesting a 22-year-old international student studying at a city college.

The complainant said that she and her 28-year-old colleague from Manipur were molested inside a running local but nobody came forward to help them.

The accused, identified as Ayyaz Sattar Qureshi, works as a loader at DD Maniyyaar, a beef exporting company at Sanpada.

Santosh Dhanwate, senior police inspector, Kurla GRP (crime branch), confirmed the development.

The incident took place on September 11 at 6pm, while the complainant and two of her colleagues were on their way to college after conducting field work at Rabale.

“We had visited the slums in Rabale to study mental health of the residents. We then boarded the Panvel-CSMT train from Vashi to go to Govandi. We boarded the general compartment as we could not locate the ladies’ coach. It was the first time I stepped inside Mumbai’s suburban train,” said the complainant.

While boarding the train, she felt someone rub their hands across her back. After she stepped inside, she felt the hand again. Her colleague had the same experience. She then noticed a man in a red T-shirt [Qureshi] making gestures directed at them.

“I confronted the man, after which he pulled down his trousers. I shouted at him but no one else said a word. A woman standing on the footboard told him to get off. The man said he would get off at Govandi,” said the complainant.

However, Qureshi did not get off at Govandi station. She then took a photograph of him.

On September 17, she approached the Vashi GRP and filed a complaint. While filing the complaint, she claimed that there were two men who molested them but she had no evidence against the second man. The crime branch officers scanned CCTV footage and tracked Qureshi at Kurla station. “We circulated the accused’s photo among our informers,” said Dhanwate.

Qureshi had gotten divorced four years ago and had been harassing his family to get him married again, said Dhanwate.

We scanned CCTV footage and circulated the accused’s photo. We tracked him down and nabbed him at Kurla station.

SANTOSH DHANWATE, Senior police inspector, Kurla GRP (crime branch)