Mumbai girl assaulted for resisting harassment

mumbai — A 16-year-old girl was left with a fractured nose after she was assaulted by a man in her neighbourhood in full public view allegedly after she protested his passing lewd comments at her.

The incident, which took place on Tuesday, was captured on a CCTV camera. The video, purportedly showing Imran Shahid Shaikh (19), who was known to the girl, attacking her, has gone viral on social and local media.

“On the complaint of a victim, police had registered an offence against the man and arrest was made accordingly. Next day he was produced before the court and released on bail,” Pramod Khoparde, senior police inspector of Nehrunagar police station said.

Caught on camera

The video footage showed a man repeatedly hitting the girl, who slumped to the ground. The passersby did not come to her help before the man had left the scene.

According to a police official, the incident took place on October 17 near SRA Building in Shramjeevi Nagar at 7pm when the girl was going to her class with a friend at Adarsh Nagar in Thakkar Bappa Colony in Chembur.

“When she was near the building, she saw a group of youths, seated inside a parked auto rickshaw, arguing loudly. The girl asked them not to make noise and then walked some distance with her friend,” the official said.

However, enraged at being rebuked by her, Shaikh came out of the autorickshaw and hit her repeatedly, he said.

“Shaikh hit her on the nose with a metal object, after which she collapsed on the ground, bleeding from the nose profusely,” the official said, adding Shaikh then threatened her and fled the spot.

“The people, who witnessed the incident, did not stop Shaikh from beating her,” he said.

The girl was taken to a hospital, where she was found to have suffered a nose fracture, the official said.

The girl, however, told national TV channels that Shaikh was harassing her for the last few days and that when she complained to her mother about it she sent her elder sister to talk to the man’s mother. However, nothing changed and Shaikh continued to pass vulgar remarks at her when she was on way to attend classes. — PTI