New Year’s Eve celebrations have always been a risky affair for women as crime rates rise on this particular night when more and more women and men are out at midnight. Two years after the Bengaluru New Year fiasco, police patrolling increased in cities. Despite that, this year too we have a few cases of molestation on the New Year’s Eve.
At 1.30 a.m. of 1 January 2019, a group of drunk men allegedly molested a 28-year-old air hostess and her two female friends and beat up her husband and a male friend in Delhi's Hauz Khas village where the five of them had gone to celebrate. The husband, who is a consultant with a Gurgaon firm, told The Hindu that they had come out of a café at Sri Aurobindo Marg and were waiting for a cab when the incident happened.
“Initially, two boys passed lewd comments at my wife and her friends. I told them to leave us alone and an argument ensued,” the 28-year-old consultant said.
They found two police officers who came to their rescue and slapped the two boys who had misbehaved. However, while the boys were leaving, they threatened them. After some time, they came back with 10 more men and started thrashing them. While they beat up the men in the group of five, they molested the women and threatened to rape them. While his wife has got an injury, the attackers also snatched her mobile phone.
The people on the street did not come to help the victims. “They were instead taking videos,” he said, adding that a female friend managed to escape and called the police. “The police helped us get a cab and we left for home. All the attackers had fled by then.”
ALSO READ: Women in India on New Year: Let It Be Safe Please
The couple has lodged a complaint at Hauz Khas police station. The police filed a case under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 506 (criminal intimidation), 379 (theft), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 34 (common intention) of IPC but no arrests have been made so far.
“Initially, two boys passed lewd comments at my wife and her friends. I told them to leave us alone and an argument ensued”
In Bengaluru, a woman alleged that she was molested by three drunk men when she had gone out for celebrations on 31st December with her husband. ANI tweeted about the case which took place around 1 am at Richmond Circle area. Reports say that when the husband intervened, the attackers hit him too.
The couple lodged a complaint on police helpline and filed a case at Ashok Nagar police station.
These are a few such cases of molestation and harassment in metropolitan cities on days of celebration. But they are not even the tip of the iceberg as several cases never get reported at all.
Picture credit- HT
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