Ghatkopar teenager molested for protesting facial hair taunt

A 19-year-old girl was allegedly molested by two youngsters in Ghatkopar on Saturday when she was on her way to college. The boys, who have been arrested, were taunting her for having facial hair, and were calling her names like mooch wali ladki (girl with a moustache).

The incident took place at 7am when the victim was passing through Kisan Kharat road in Nityanand Nagar near Ghatkopar station. She had left home when Rizwan Khan, 18, and his friend Danish, 19, who were standing at the junction of the road, started teasing her.

Though Reshma (name changed ) did not pay attention initially, when Khan and Danish persisted with their loud jibes, she turned back and confronted them.

Inspector Uttam Kolekar from the Ghatkopar police station said, “Reshma told them to behave, but Khan and Danish went on teasing her. She then warned them that she would complain about it, after which the two seized her by the hand and behaved in an indecent manner.” He added, “The incident occurred in a public place and Reshma, not wanting to create a scene, left the spot.

Though she was disturbed, she attended college and told her parents about the incident when she returned home in the afternoon”.

Reshma’s parents took her to the Ghatkopar police station and registered a case against Khan and Danish. According to another police officer, “Reshma comes from a middle-class family and is a good student. The incident upset her but she did not tell anyone about it in college. However, she broke down when her parents asked why she was disturbed.”

A manhunt was launched on Saturday afternoon to nab Khan and Danish, who stay in the same locality, but had fled when they learnt a case has been registered against them.

Reshma’s brother Vinay (name changed) and his friends too started searching. They succeeded in nabbing Khan from the locality late in the evening. Kolekar said, “At 11.30pm, Vinay and his friends spotted a person resembling Khan. She was called to identify him. When she confirmed, Reshma’s brother tried to take him to the police station.” But when he resisted, the girl’s brother and his friends manhandled Khan,” Kolekar said.