Mumbai: A 30-year-old man from Vikhroli was arrested for allegedly throwing live firecrackers on a woman social worker, who also happens to be his neighbour, in an inebriated state. When the victim tried to take him to the police station, he allegedly assaulted her. The woman alleged that the police “threatened” her, saying she should have alerted the cops instead of confronting the accused.
The incident took place in Kannamwar Nagar when Priti Gaikwad, 52, stepped out to buy flour at around 9.30pm on Friday. She spotted Pradip Fating bursting crackers in the middle of the road and asked him to shift his activity near the public garden area, which is comparatively empty, instead of doing it on the road and endangering the safety of pedestrians.
Accused also abused the woman
“Fating, a notorious man, was bursting crackers and even supplying some to small children. I asked them politely to do all these things near the garden when he started to abuse me,” said Gaikwad. Sometime later, she went to buy coconuts and met the accused again. “I had reached the shop when a live cracker, which was thrown by Fating in my direction, bursted near my leg. When I and the shopkeeper confronted him, he started to throw more crackers in my direction while also abusing me,” Gaikwad added.
With the help of a local man, Gaikwad forced the accused inside an auto-rickshaw to take him to the police station. “Fating continued to abuse me and subsequently punched me while pulling my hair. He even pushed me from the auto, leading to injuries on my arms. I took him to the police station and registered an FIR,” the social worker said.
On Saturday morning, Gaikwad came to know that Fating was let off, probably on bail. She alleged that she tried to reach out to the police when the incident took place, but in vain. “I called up the police station multiple times and even the control room. It was either busy, or unavailable. The night duty officer, Kadam, yelled at me instead of taking my complaint,” Gaikwad accused. Despite several attempts by this newspaper, Vikhroli police senior official Sudhir Hirdekar didn't respond.
A case has been filed against Fating under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
