Mumbai:
Seven people have been arrested for assaulting and molesting a woman police officer at the Virar Police station on the outskirts of Mumbai.
Assistant Police Inspector (API) Pritam Muthe sustained minor injuries on Sunday night after a group of people assaulted her while she was registering a case against a young boy for kidnapping a minor girl. At least two women police personnel and their male colleagues were also roughed up by the mob, they said.
The police say that the couple claimed to have been married but since the girl was a minor, the boy was arrested for 'kidnapping' her. This outraged the family members of the accused who barged into the police station with a few other people.
One of the persons in the group threw a mobile phone at the officer which hit her ear. Ms Muthe has been admitted to a local hospital.
All the accused, including three women, are residents of Mira Road. They have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) among others.
This is the third such incident in three months where a policewoman was attacked and molested. Cases of molestation of women cops were registered during the August 11 riots at Azad Maidan and during Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations.
(With PTI inputs)