A 30-year-old woman from Bengaluru visiting Mumbai for a private party was allegedly molested by an unknown man at a Bandra cafe and bar. Instead of taking cognisance of her complaint, the restobar management asked her to leave the pub.
Police ask woman to formally lodge a complaint
The city police have contacted her family in Mumbai to ask her to formally lodge a complaint so they can initiate an investigation into the matter. Meanwhile, the pub also sent the victim CCTV footage where the unknown man is seen groping her.
The woman, who works in Darjeeling, was in Mumbai for a friend’s engagement party on March 25 (Saturday). Through an Instagram post, she said, “I went out with my family to 145 Bandra. We were having a good time till I was groped by a man next to me. I caught his hand, confronted him and punched him. He was very drunk but that is obviously never an excuse for touching a woman inappropriately. His friends recognised his wrongdoing, a few apologised, while the others tried protecting him and asked me to calm down.”
Pub management did not listen to her complaint
When she complained to the restobar management, they did not care to listen. “It took convincing to throw this man out of the bar. Except for one bouncer, no one spoke to us. We were asked to move away from the area and eventually asked to leave as well. His friends were allowed to stay on and we presume this man did, too,” she posted further.
The pub management later apologised to the woman but she said that the matter wasn’t dealt with urgency. “…A place like this that’s supposed to make you feel safe can’t get away with a wishy washy response to someone being groped. I don’t blame any particular person at 145, except the man that did this but what would they have done had it happened to someone they loved,” she asked in her heartfelt note.
Will fully cooperate with police: PUB management
Responding to her post, the pub said, “We are in touch with the victim and Mumbai police about the entire incident since Saturday and will fully cooperate from our end. We have provided all the information we have and will continue to provide anything required with the intention of finding the perpetrator responsible for this.”
Not satisfied, the woman posted, “Your reaction after the incident has been… unfortunately snail paced when the incident happened in real time and I actually needed the help. While I appreciate the apology… the establishment still needs a lot of work done to make it safe for women. I will not be stepping into your establishment anytime soon.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 9) Anil Paraskar told the FPJ, “We have contacted the victim but since she can’t physically come to the city, we asked her family to lodge the complaint on her behalf. Currently, her sister is with us recording the statement, which will be followed by registering the FIR. We will begin the probe shortly.”
