Mumbai: A decade after a 34-year-old man was booked for molestation, the sessions court last week acquitted him and noted that he was falsely implicated.
The man, Shyam Hari Zende, who is a resident of Ghatkopar, and the complainant both worked with BEST as peons. As per the complaint lodged with Colaba police station, the woman was promoted as typist in the accounts department after two months of joining.
On August 1, 2007, her manager asked her not to come to work without giving any valid reason and her punch card was not returned. She complained to her seniors several times but allegedly did not get any positive response.
On June 27, 2013, the woman visited Ajit Pawar, who was then deputy chief minister, for help. With his intervention, the general manager of BEST assured to resolve her issue. One morning when she reached the office of the general manager, she was asked to sit in the waiting room.
When she refused, the security guard shouted at her to follow the directions. After some time, Zende came in, hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. Shocked by the incident, she complained to the general manager when she met him and a complaint was lodged.
During the trial, the prosecution examined seven witnesses, which included the purported victim and two security guards. The guards, however, did not support her version. While the woman testified and narrated the incident before the court, she did not turn up during the cross-examination. Zende, in his defence, said that as he wasn’t allowing the woman to meet the general manager, she tried to enter forcibly and lodged a false complaint.
The court observed that the defence of the accused is a probable one. “If he really hugged her and kissed her, she would have cried out or raised her voice. Admittedly, she didn’t and that conduct does not appear to be natural.” The court rejected the allegations made by the woman and acquitted Zende.
