2 men, identified as Lucky and Bunty, were arrested by the police for harassing an Indore model
Highlights
- The two were tracked down with the help of CCTV footage
- The woman was on a 2-wheeler when the 2 men tried to molest her
- The model-blogger woman had narrated her ordeal on Twitter
Two men, both in their early twenties, have been arrested for
molesting a model in Madhya Pradesh's Indore on Sunday evening, the senior Indore police officer Harinarayan Chari Mishra said. The two, co-workers at a readymade store in the city, were tracked down with the help of CCTV footage that covered areas around Mangal City mall in Indore's residential suburb, Vijay Nagar.
The model-blogger woman had narrated her ordeal on Twitter yesterday, initially unsure about approaching the police. She was on a two-wheeler when the two men on a motorcycle reached for shirt, demanding to know "what was under her skirt". She tried to stop them but also lost control over her Activa scooty and fell. She had also posted photographs of her bruised legs.
Her account provoked anger and demands for action against the culprits. There were also some who, like the only man who had offered to help her when she fell, felt that she had brought it upon herself because she was wearing a shirt. A few also called it a publicity stunt.
Then, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister tweeted his support, applauding her courage and promising to catch the culprits. "You will have to help the police in identify them," he said on Twitter.
The model-blogger tweeted her ordeal and posted photographs of her bruised legs.
The woman took some time to touch base with the police, said Mr Mishra who oversaw the investigation in this case.
Because no one came forward to report the registration number of the motorcycle, Mr Mishra said the police went through hours of footage from CCTV cameras installed in and around the spot where the incident had taken place.
"We scanned footage from nearly 60 CCTVs in the entire area... to locate the suspects," Mr Mishra said, identifying the suspects as "Lucky" and "Bunty". One is 22, the other 24 years old.
The woman had also gone back to the spot where the incident took place to see if any CCTV cameras would back up her story. Mr Mishra suggested they hadn't found one either but they were able to tie the suspects to the incident on the basis of cameras elsewhere.
The two were placed under arrest after the woman confirmed that the men detained by the police were the same. She returned to Twitter soon after, to thank the police officer.
For now, Mr Mishra said the suspects had not yet confessed that they had tried to molest the woman but "had only spoken about the accident".
"Since no other witnesses have come forward, we are going by the statement of the complainant and dealing with this case," the police officer said, confident that the sequence of events would be a little clearer in a day or two.
The senior officer said the large team of police officers who worked on the case would be given a Rs 20,000 reward for solving the crime within 24 hours.