Man Masturbates On Co-Passenger, Makes Lewd Gesture; Arrested

A 32-year-old who was travelling from Pune to Nagpur allegedly masturbated and made an inappropriate gesture towards a 40-year-old woman seated next to him on a flight on a private aeroplane on October 9.

The accused, identified as Feroze Shaikh, attempted to flee while the passengers were getting off the plane but was caught by the woman he harassed and handed over to the cops.

Pune Man Masturbates On Co Passenger On Flight

A police officer of the Sonegaon police station said that the woman was a 40-year-old teacher who resided in Chandrapur and was on her way to Nagpur to perform the last rites of her father.

The Times of India reported that the woman's screams alerted the cabin crew and ground staff at the airport, who called the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) guards to withhold the accused and hand him over to the police.

According to the report, the woman said that she had slept off as soon as the flight took off and was unaware of what the alleged perpetrator who was seated next to her was doing until she opened her eyes upon hearing the announcement.

Initially, the woman thought that her co-passenger was scratching himself and ignored him. However, she told the police that she got suspicious when he continued the act and allegedly nudged and gestured to her in a brazen manner.

The woman explained that she wanted to call the cabin crew, but by then the flight had landed. The accused, Shaikh, who is a resident of the Kondhwa area of Pune and an engineer by profession, allegedly rushed to the exit and tried to flee as soon as the door opened.

The Sonegaon station officer said that the CISF personnel who were on board intervened and restrained the accused before reporting the incident to the police.

The TOI reported that Shaikh was travelling to an industrial water plant at Koradi, near Nagpur, for work when the incident happened. It was also found that the accused was engaged to be married next month.

He has now been booked under sections 354 (assaulting or using criminal force on any woman, intending to outrage her modesty), 354 (a) (sexual harassment), and 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and further probes are underway. Shaikh was remanded in jail on October 10.

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