Woman molested near Dakshineswar Metro Station; one arrested

The accused allegedly bumped into her intentionally and touched her inappropriately. When she confronted him and grabbed him by the collar, the accused allegedly slapped her and tried to pull her clothes to free himself.

The woman allegedly told police that despite her cries for help, no one from the crowd intervened, and that some residents later tried to dissuade her from filing a complaint. They allegedly told her that the accused was “influential” and regularly collected money (“tola”) from local autos and rickshaws.

Based on her complaint, police began an investigation. “After we received the complaint, CCTV footage of the area was collected to identify the accused. Once he was identified, we tracked and arrested him on Wednesday night. He will be produced in court today, Thursday,” a senior police officer said.

Barrackpore Police Commissioner Murli Dhar Sharma told The Indian Express, “A complaint was filed, swift action taken and the accused has been arrested.”

The incident has sparked renewed concern over women’s safety in the city. It comes close on the heels of a junior female doctor at Uluberia Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Government Medical College and Hospital being assaulted and given rape threats by a home guard and a few relatives of a patient on Monday. Three persons were arrested in that case.

Last year, in August, a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was raped and murdered by civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy. He was later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.