Thane: Molester beaten up, arrested by GRP

Mumbai: A video of a 28-year-old man being mercilessly assaulted aboard a local train, allegedly after being caught red-handed while molesting a woman, went viral on social media on Monday. The accused, who was later handed over to the police by the irate mob, has been arrested by the Thane Government Railway Police (GRP).

According to the Thane GRP, the accused has been identified as Aftab Ansari, a resident of the Patra Chawl in Byculla. The police said that he was intoxicated when he boarded the general compartment of a Thane-bound local train from Dadar. The victim, too, was in the same compartment and she felt him touching her inappropriately, taking advantage of the crowd.

A short while later, as the train started emptying out, Ansari was still continuing his inappropriate behaviour, after which the woman raised an alarm. Several male commuters immediately rushed forward to her aid, and cornerned the accused. The video, which later surfaced on social media, shows Ansari being assaulted by the victim as well as the men, despite his repeated pleas for forgiveness.

“The accused was then brought to the police station and handed over to us. We have arrested him and charged him with outraging a woman's modesty under the Indian Penal Code," said senior police inspector Pandharinath Kande, Thane GRP. He was subsequently handed over to the Kurla GRP, as the offence technically occurred in their jurisdiction.