A 17-year-old college girl got an overenthusiastic suitor and his friend arrested after they began harassing her by kissing and slapping her in public. The duo, identified as Junaid Arif Barudgar and Wahid Khatri (both aged 23), had also threatened her with dire consequences on a social networking site.
After being publicly humiliated, the girl mustered courage and told her parents what she had been going through. Her parents then lodged a complaint against Barudgar, who runs a garment shop, and his friend Khatri with the Khar police, following which the duo was arrested. Both the accused are residents of Santa Cruz (W).
According to the police, the victim, a resident of Bandra, and Barudgar got to know each other through common friends a year ago and they often used to meet at a Bandra restaurant.
“In her complaint, the victim has alleged that after a few meetings, Barudgar proposed to her and subsequently, he started forcing her to marry him. When the victim turned down his proposal, their friendship soured. Things became worst when Barudgar forcibly kissed her in front of her friends and threatened her with dire consequences,” said a police officer, adding that the accused even threatened to harm her father if she did not fall in line.
Once the girl was sitting in a restaurant with her friends when Khatri showed up. He asked her to meet Barudgar who was waiting outside. When she refused to do so, Khatri slapped her, the officer said quoting from the girl’s complaint.
Police inspector Subhash Chavan of the Khar police station said Barudgar and Khatri had been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the IT Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
