Flying kiss lands Santa Cruz, Mumbai youth in lock-up, leaves Rs 6,000 hole in wallet

When love flies, trouble’s in the air. Santa Cruz resident Rahul Umesh Tilak sure will vouch for that.

On Saturday, when Tilak tried a flying kiss, little did he know that he would end up spending that night in a police lock-up and parting with Rs6,000.

It was not a case of a flying kiss missing the target and hitting a police station; what went wrong was that Tilak’s target was a total stranger.

The 22-year-old had come to Grant Road for some work and was about to leave for home. When he was near the traffic signal opposite Gulistan Hotel, he saw a girl on the other side and let out a flying kiss.

Embarrassed, the girl informed some policemen, who were nearby. They arrested Tilak and produced him before a local court on Sunday. The court remanded Tilak in judicial custody till December 7. He was granted a bail of Rs6,000.

Tilak is a resident of Siddhivinayak chawl in Santa Cruz’s Gazdar Bandh area. He works in a private company.

The girl, also 22 years old, resides in the Grant Road area and works in a company in  Andheri. Everyday, she leaves for office at 12pm and returns at 10pm, the police said.

“We asked his name and address and registered a First Information Report. Initially, he denied having done anything wrong, but admitted to his guilt later. He said it was a casual gesture and felt sorry for his act,” an officer of the DB Marg police station said.

Tilak has been booked under section 509 of the Indian Penal Code for a word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.

He was arrested around 10.50pm.

“If a person is found guilty under this offence by the court, he can be punished with a simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, with fine, or with both,” the officer said.