Lawyer chases, catches molester, says nobody helped her at Dadar

Brave lawyer chases, catches molester who groped her and tried to escape in a Borivli fast; woman says nobody helped her and one commuter even sympathised with the accused and told her to go easy

A 24-year-old lawyer chased a molester, a medical student, at Dadar station, jumped into the general compartment he had got into and refused to let go of him till she had handed him to the cops at Andheri. Sadly, according to her, not a single commuter came forward to help, and worse, even the cops were reluctant to file an FIR, warning her about legal hurdles she would face.

The accused has been identified as Javed Jan Shaha, 32, resident of Prabhadevi. According to the police, he is a medical student at a reputable Navi Mumbai college. The woman told mid-day, "Around 11pm on Saturday, while I was walking towards the first class ladies compartment of a train on platform number 3 at Dadar station, suddenly someone put his hand between my legs from behind. I immediately punched him with my elbow and turned around to see, but he was running off. I grabbed hold of his collar, but he managed to get into a Borivli fast that was about to leave.

I boarded the same train holding his collar, as I did not want to let him go. I thrashed him but he didn't apologise. I could feel that he had done it intentionally. What shocked me most, especially in a city like Mumbai, was that nobody came forward to help me. I fought him alone. In fact, while I was holding his collar, a passenger showed sympathy for him by saying, 'uske gardan pe dukh raha hai (his neck must be hurting)'. I asked the person to keep his mouth shut if he can't help. Suddenly, the man started touching my feet and apologising. I could sense that he was grazing his hands on my feet."

The victim handed him over to the cops at Andheri railway station

'Nobody helped'
She further said, "I kept asking for help but no one came forward. I couldn't get off at the next station (Bandra) as there were no cops on the platform. On reaching Andheri, a person standing at the door of the compartment spotted a couple of officers on the platform and called out for help. There was a woman constable among them, who spoke to me and helped me a lot. But, the cops at the Andheri railway police station were reluctant to file an FIR sighting legal hurdles that I would have to face after it.

But the moment I told them that I am a lawyer, they filed the case. Later, some of my family members came to the police station and checked the accused's WhatsApp and other social media accounts on his phone, through which we got to know that he is a medical student and hails from a good family. But, his WhatsApp chats revealed some vulgar messages he had sent to random women, just to harass them. That is when I realised that I had taken the right step to get him punished." The case was first registered at the Andheri railway police station and later transferred to Mumbai Central Government Railway Police (GRP).

In judicial custody
Speaking to mid-day, Shailendra Dhiwar, senior PI of Mumbai Central GRP, said, "The accused has been arrested under section 354 (A) of IPC. After being produced in the Bandra Holiday court, he was sent to judicial custody till December 14. We have recorded the victim's detailed statement. Further investigation is on."

11pm
Approximate time the incident took place

Dec 14
The day till when the accused will remain in judicial custody

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