‘Was fighting with the trio for 15 minutes on tempo’

MUMBAI: The boyfriend of the 21-year-old woman who was molested in Bandra early on Sunday said that he tried to fend off the three accused and was engaged in a physical fight with them for several minutes.

The accused had threatened the couple and forced them to climb into a parked tempo, where they molested the woman, the man said.

“The men removed my wallet but there was no cash, so they took my debit card. They threatened to take my friend along with them forcefully, so that she could enter my PIN in the ATM machine. Then, they started pulling my friend off the tempo. So, I pushed them away,” the man told HT.

“The trio started assaulting me and tried to attack my friend too, but I tried to protect her. The fight went on for around 15 minutes.”

He said that there were no police vehicles patrolling the area throughout the incident. “When the suspects realised that some locals may come to our rescue, they fled from the spot,” he said. The trio had also stolen the man’s mobile phone. The couple registered a complaint at the Bandra police station.

“A woman sub inspector at the Bandra police station, who was recording our statement, asked my friend why we were roaming the area at that time, and questioned her about why she was wearing such clothes while going out,” he alleged.

The man confirmed that the Dharavi police, whom they first approached, had taken them to the spot of the incident in the police vehicle, and later, took them to Shahu Nagar police. “After inspecting the crime scene, the Shahu Nagar police took us to Shashtri Nagar, where they made inquiries with locals and then escorted us to Bandra police station.”

He alleged that police did not believe him when he narrated the incident. “But when my friend told them what had happened, they believed her. If she had not been with me I would not have been taken seriously at the police station,” he said.