Woman stripped, beaten up over land issue; 1 held

A 45-year-old woman from Boisar was allegedly stripped, molested and beaten up by a group of five-six men in the district over an issue related to development of land, police said on Thursday. The main accused, identified as Naresh Dhodi, has been arrested, they said. The accused along with some other men reached the woman's home in Dandi Pada village of Boisar on Tuesday.

They allegedly stripped her, dragged her to the road by pulling her hair and beat her severely with sticks, Boisar police station sub-inspector S S Gharat said quoting the complaint filed by the victim yesterday. The woman had purchased a piece of land from Dhodi in Dandi Pada about six months back. The accused was apparently annoyed with the woman as she had not given him the contract for development of the land which he had been asking for. Based on the complaint, Dhodi was arrested yesterday, he said, adding that a search was on to nab the others involved in the crime.

Offences have been registered against the accused under sections 354(b) (molestation), 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148, 149, 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC, police added.