A Thane resident has registered a complaint with the Vartak Nagar police, alleging that her modesty was outraged by one of her neighbours during a row that erupted over feeding stray dogs in their locality.
Sushank Tomar, a Thane-based social activist, said the complainant and the accused, Gorakhnath Vaidya, live in Neelkanth Heights in Thane. Mr. Tomar said that the incident took place on October 7, and the police filed an FIR on October 28.
Mr. Tomar said, “The woman was feeding a sick stray dog in the parking lot of the society when Mr. Vaidya started clicking pictures of her without her consent. This led to an argument. Mr. Vaidya used objectionable language and made obscene gestures at the woman. Her husband then reached the spot and demanded Mr. Vaidya to delete the pictures, but he refused to do so.”
He said the entire incident was recorded on the CCTV camera in the society’s parking lot. The victim then approached the society’s committee and asked for the footage of the incident. She also demanded that Mr. Vaidya issue an apology to her. However, the committee did not take up her demands and she filed a complaint with the police.
Mr. Tomar said the society has a history of harassing people who take care of stray dogs. He said, “They have even put up a warning against feeding stray dogs in the society. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had then issued formal notices to the society. The harassment has worsened after the victim filed the police complaint. The housing society started sending her notices barring her and her family from using the building’s lift and restricted them from entering the society’s office.”
The Vartak Nagar police have booked Mr. Vaidya under sections of the Indian Penal Code for outraging a woman’s modesty and criminal intimidation. Senior police inspector S.B. Gaikwad confirmed that the FIR had been registered, but no arrest has been made yet in the case.
