A woman was allegedly molested by two men, who inappropriately touched her when she was travelling in an auto-rickshaw from Andheri to Malad on March 7. In a desperate attempt to save herself, the woman jumped off the running auto and approached police. Acting on this complaint, police identified the accused on the basis of sketch and technical evidence, following which they were arrested by Andheri Police from suburban parts of the city on Tuesday. Both the accused have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for the charges of molestation and endangering life or personal safety of others.
According to police sources, the incident occurred at around 12.45 pm on March 7, when the woman had boarded an autorickshaw from Gundavali Service Road in Andheri (E). Police said that the auto driver was accompanied by his friend, while the woman was sitting in the passenger's seat. After a while, one of two accused began enquiring with the woman about her personal details, to which she ignored.
Surprisingly, one of the men came back, beside the woman and touched her inappropriately. When the woman asked the auto driver to stop the vehicle, the latter kept driving on the instructions of his friend. The woman panicked and she jumped out of the running auto to save herself, and sustained injuries on her head and arm. She then approached police and lodged a complaint against the accused duo.
Police booked the unidentified accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and drew a sketch of the accused with the woman's description. Police visited the spot and also scrutinised the CCTV camera footage and sought the license plate of the autorickshaw and identified them.
The two accused, identified as Aniket Jaiswal, 21 and Surajkumar Rajbhar, 24, both auto drivers by profession, were handed over by Samta Nagar Police, who had arrested them in a POCSO case. A senior official said that Jaiswal and Rajbhar have confessed of their crime. They will be produced in a local magistrate court to seek their custody for further investigation.
