New Delhi:
The rising graph of crimes against women in the capital is a "serious public order problem", a Delhi court has said, as it sent a youth to two years in jail for harassing his neighbour after forcing his way into her house.
"...It is a well-known fact that it is a serious public order problem if married women are not safe in their own houses during the day time from their neighbours ... in view of the fact that offences against women are on the increase in the city and in view of the facts and circumstances, convict Kailash does not deserves the benefit to be released on probation," Metropolitan Magistrate Ekta Gauba said.
The court awarded the jail term to 22-year Kailash, a resident of Shadipur in West Delhi, for offences of assault, trespass, criminal intimidation, uttering words to outrage modesty of a woman.
It also imposed a fine of Rs 6,500 on Kailash, directing that of this, Rs 5,000 should be given to the victim as compensation.
The magistrate said it has been established that Kailash, who was residing in the neighbourhood, had trespassed the house of the woman along with a blade with a preparation to assault her and had also misbehaved with her.
He had also threatened to hurt the woman with the blade if she refused to tell him the whereabouts of her husband and had abused her, it said.
According to the prosecution, the incident took place in the afternoon in December 2013, when the youth had entered the woman's house and asked for her husband who was not at home.
When the woman refused to give details of her husband, he assaulted her.
When he tried to run away, the woman raised an alarm and was caught by passers-by and a police complaint was made.
During the trial, Kailash denied the allegations saying the case was falsely lodged at the instance of the woman's husband who had enmity with him.
Citing Supreme Court judgement, the court rejected his leniency plea saying the benefit of probation cannot be extended to the accused in heinous crimes including those against women.