04 February,2011 08:01 AM IST | | Kaumudi Gurjar
Lawyers and activists criticise police official's attitude of not being of help to woman attacked by eve-teasers
On Wednesday night, a police official made a woman wait for five hours to file an FIR.
The woman, a teacher at a private school, had shown courage by resisting two men who roughed her up after she intervened when they passed lewd remarks at a bunch of girls.
Lawyers and activists have reacted angrily against the police attitude towards an assaulted woman.
Criminal lawyers and women right activists reacted that by failing to take cognisance of the case, the police were manipulating charges and added that the police were trying to protect the suspect by slapping softer sections of IPC.
Advocate Milind Pawar, President of Pune Bar Association, said, "Police should have slapped stricter charges against the culprit to curb these kind incidents. Several incidents in the past have shown us that initial ignorance on behalf of the police have resulted in serious crime against distressed women."
Advocate Supriya Kothari of Bhagini Helpline said, "The Police should have applied IPC 294 for indulging in obscene act and IPC 509 for insulting the modesty of a woman, which is a cognisable offense."
The teacher yesterday called Superintendent of Police Pratap Dighavkar to narrate the ordeal.
Since Dighavkar was on leave she could not meet him.
When MiD DAY contacted Dighavkar, he said, "We have taken stringent action against him. The person responsible for harassing her was in the lockup till 11 am."
Senior Police Inspector Nitin Gokave said, "We have taken preventive action against Rahul Ranavirsingh Tutleja."
But this answer did not pacify the teacher. She said, "Despite having told them that Rahul Singh was accompanied by another boy, they did not include him in the statement."
