Man who sexually harassed woman jogger sentenced to one year in jail in Mumbai
The woman was rescued by a passing motorcyclist, who was also examined as a witness along with her in a Borivali court.
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During the trial, the woman and the motorcyclist were examined as witnesses. Observing that misbehaviour should be nipped in the bud by not showing leniency, a magistrate court in Mumbai sentenced a 30-year-old man last month to one year in jail for the sexual harassment of a woman jogger.
As per her complaint, the woman went for a jog in an area in Mumbai’s western suburbs around 8 pm on March 21. She further stated that a stranger suddenly held her from behind, sexually harassed her, and tried to drag her into a forest area. After she screamed, a passing motorcyclist came to her rescue and caught the man, identified as Naresh Kol. The police later arrested him.
During the trial, the woman and the motorcyclist were examined as witnesses. The court relied on their testimonies, stating that it demonstrated the accused’s intention to outrage the woman’s modesty. The accused claimed that he had been misunderstood and that he had run into her while trying to avoid a speeding vehicle and cross the road.
However, the court in Borivali said in its August 22 verdict that if his version were true, there was no occasion for the woman to scream, adding that she screamed fearing that something wrong had happened to her.
“If the accused was innocent, then there was no occasion for him to drag the informant to the nearest forest area. This would reflect that accused was possessed with malice and ill intention towards femininity of informant (victim),” the court said.
The court further said that there was no reason why the woman and the passerby, who did not know each other or the accused, should make false allegations against a stranger.
“Though the accused is young man. He, by doing such indecent & indecorous act, has brought the safety & dignity of general women in the society under threat,” the court said.
The one-year sentence will include the five months the accused has already spent in jail since his arrest in the case. He was found guilty under section 74 (assault or the use of criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
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