Incident took place in the wee hours of Thursday, as the bus neared Vile Parle on the Western Express Highway; accused claims his seat was improper and hence, accidentally touched her
A 26-year-old police constable, attached with the local arms unit, has been arrested after a woman accused him of molesting her while she was sleeping in a luxury bus. The woman, aged 26, and her husband were returning from Shirdi and the incident took place at Vile Parle in the wee hours of Thursday.
Police constable Sachin Sakharam Waghchore (left) was arrested for outraging the modesty of a woman in a moving bus yesterday
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The woman, in her statement to the police, said the constable, who was seated in the window seat behind her, groped her while she was fast asleep. The constable has been identified as Sachin Sakharam Waghchore, a resident of BDD chawl in Worli.
Police said Waghchore was also returning home after visiting the pilgrimage site. The incident comes at a time when Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria has made safety of women his top priority after taking office a week ago.
“Waghchore has been charged under Section 354 (outraging modesty of woman) of the IPC, which is a non-bailable offence. He was produced in the Bandra court yesterday after which he was remanded to judicial custody. He has also been suspended,” said a police officer from Vile Parle police station, on the condition of anonymity.
Shameful act
According to the police, the woman told them that Waghchore was behaving strangely since the start of the journey and even tried to touch her few times. She said that as the bus neared Vile Parle, Waghchore leaned forward and touched her inappropriately.
The woman shrieked, waking up the other passengers who manhandled Waghchore after learning of his transgressions. The passengers escorted Waghchore to Vakola police station after which a case was registered and then later transferred to the Vile Parle police station, as the incident occurred in their jurisdiction.
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