03 May,2016 06:54 AM IST | | Saurabh Vaktania
This is the explanation the Vakola police gave after it arrested a Manipuri woman who hit back at the three men who assaulted her
A day after the Vakola police arrested a Manipuri woman for hitting back at a gang of men who thrashed and molested her, the bail order for her release was issued. However, the police maintain that they were not wrong to arrest the woman, even though she said she only hit the men in self-defence.
"All the Manipuri people were drunk. The woman was in a completely inebriated state and hit the accused on the head with a rock. She claims she hit the man in self-defence, but we are not here to make a judgment - the court will decide on the facts. If we had not taken the accused's complaint against the woman, we would have been under the scanner," said an officer from the Vakola police station in justification.
Yesterday, mid-day had reported how the Manipuri woman was allegedly assaulted by a gang of three men - Sudarshan Gaikwad (46) and Deepak Gandhela (25) and a third person who is absconding. Since the woman and her friends fought back, the police also filed an FIR against her under Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).
However, there seems to be a difference even in the way they have perceived the two cross-complaints - the first complaint made by the woman against her assailants, and the second one filed against her by one of the accused.
The cops said that the Manipuri woman and her friends were completely drunk, and in that inebriated state, she picked up a rock and hit the accused with it, after which he began bleeding.
When the woman complained that the men were hurling racial slurs at her and even called her and her friend âNepali', the police said the men were uneducated and might not know this is a punishable offence.
Senior Police Inspector Mahadeo Wavale said, "She picked up a rock and hit Gaikwad. Gaikwad's medical was done at the VN Desai hospital, which showed injuries on his head. He complained against woman and her three friends, so we had to file an FIR against her."
âHard to digest'
This reporter approached the complainant and her friends again on Monday. "It is hard to digest that cops took a complaint against my female friend when she only attacked in self-defence," said Niggreen Jermick, the friend who was accompanying the woman back from a birthday party at the time of the incident.
