30 November,2024 07:54 AM IST | Mumbai | Diwakar Sharma
The demolition at Nalasopara. Pic/Hanif Patel
A 43-year-old man has been arrested for stalking a 20-year-old woman near a demolition site in Nalasopara, where hundreds of families have been left homeless after the civic body razed their unauthorised residential buildings.
The accused, identified as Ulfat Gaffar Shaikh, had been soliciting sexual favours from the woman, who had just come back from Nalasopara railway station along with her elder sister and grandmother on Friday evening. This incident has left those displaced from the demolition worried for the safety of other women there.
The homeless residents are from the seven out of 41 unauthorised residential buildings that were razed last week by Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation following a court order. A total of 53 families have been living on the road and are yet to be rehabilitated by the state government.
Local sources told mid-day that Shaikh had been stalking the woman. "It was around 7.30 pm on Friday when the girl was alone near Agarwal Gate number 1 which is in the close proximity to the demolition site where hundreds of homeless families are residing on the road. It was a dark stretch where a man had been stalking the woman and had been demanding sexual favours in exchange of Rs 5,000," said the source.
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"The visibly terrified woman sought help and people at the site rushed to her support. He was caught at the spot and thrashed badly," the source added. "The woman narrated her ordeal and we recorded her statement to register a First Information Report (FIR) under sections 75 (sexual harassment) and 78 (stalking) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and arrested the man identified as Ulfat Gaffar Shaikh. He is a resident of Nalasopara East," said Pournima Chougule-Shringi, the zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police.
No immediate details were found if the woman is one among the homeless families who have been forced to live on the streets post the demolition drive by the local municipal corporation. "We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to ensuring the safety of women," said the DCP Pournima Chougule-Shringi, "Our police personnel have been conducting night patrolling in the area to ensure safety and security of people."
