A 21-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly attempting to sexually assault a 35-year-old woman inside a ladies’ washroom of a shopping centre in South Mumbai.
According to the police, the victim is a lawyer by profession and she works in a private law firm. On April 18, she had gone to a wash room of a SoBo-based shopping centre. The accused, identified as Sandeep Pandey, was already sitting inside the washroom when the victim entered.
As soon as she spotted him, she questioned his presence inside a ladies washroom. Pandey, scared, immediately ran outside.
The victim then entered one of the toilet and closed the door from inside as usual. However, when she came outside, she spotted Pandey again, waiting near the main door, which he had locked from inside. Alarmed, the victim started to scream to seek help but by then Pandey allegedly groped her. In retaliation, she punched him and kicked him. Pandey soon ran away from the washroom.
CCTV footage scanned to trace, and identify the victim
The victim immediately approached the Azad Maidan police station to register a formal complaint against this man. A team of police reached the spot, along with the victim, they scanned through CCTV camera footage to trace and identify the victim. The shopping centre authorities confirmed that the assaulter was a security guard, working at a nearby spot. Pandey, the accused, allegedly was a frequent visitor of the washroom where he would take bath. The authorities were unaware of the fact that he sometimes used the ladies washroom, instead of the gents washroom to do his bathing chores.
The police officials added that within an hour after the FIR was registered, Pandey was spotted and arrested by them.
In the process to sexual assault, Pandey allegedly also tried to strangulate the victim when she was trying to scream for help. Hence, along with section 354 (criminal force to outrage a woman’s modesty), police have added section 307 (attempt to murder) under the Indian Penal Code, against Pandey.
