Mumbai: Man gets 10 days in jail and Rs 500 fine for lewd gestures before women cops in police station

A magistrate court in Dadar has sentenced a man to ten days jail and Rs. 500 fine for removing his shirt and making lewd gestures before women police at the Dadar police station in 2016.

Babu Kharwa, 34, a flower vendor at Dadar’s flower market and Ganesh Kharwa, 38 had been taken to the police station because they were scuffling under Keshavsut flyover in Dadar. A patrolling constable had found them shouting and fighting there. He had tried to intervene, but they would not pay heed and he had to take them into custody. On reaching the police station, Ganesh had removed his shirt and made indecent gestures before the women police.

The duo had been booked under the IPC provisions of Sec 294 (obscene acts and songs) and Sec160 (punishment for committing affray). Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate SR Narvade convicted Ganesh for the offence under Sec 294 and acquitted Babu. Both were sentenced for scuffling in public place to seven days jail.

The court noted in its judgment that the woman police had said in her testimony that one of the men had made indecent gestures before her at the police station. It is proved, it said, that the accused did an obscene act in a police station which caused annoyance to the police, more particularly to lady cops.

The accused had sought leniency as they are sole bread earners and poor and it is their first offence. The court said lenient view will have to be taken while awarding sentence.