Mumbai: Out on bail, 'molester' shows up at victim's house, asks case to be withdrawn; says police gave address

A young woman who was molested on a local train nearly a year ago woke up to a shocking surprise on Sunday when she found her alleged molester standing at her doorstep. When questioned about how he acquired her address, the accused, a daily-wage laborer, claimed that the “police had provided it to him” and insisted that she withdraw her complaint. However, as per reports, the Government Railway Police (GRP) refuted the accused’s claim, asserting that they had not disclosed any information to him. According to the GRP, the accused could have obtained the victim’s address from the copy of the chargesheet served to him in accordance with the law. Terrified for her safety and that of her family, the victim has reportedly stopped going out of her house and has opted to work from there. The incident of molestation occurred on September 21, 2022, while the victim was commuting for work in the first-class ladies’ compartment of a local train between Andheri and Jogeshwari stations. Upon reporting the incident to the Andheri GRP police post, the victim faced a lack of sensitivity from the officers. One officer questioned why she had not physically confronted the perpetrator, while a female officer even speculated whether the accused was her boyfriend. The victim was quoted in a TOI reports saying, “They failed to grasp the gravity of what had occurred… treating the case as if it were just another minor offense.” The registration of the FIR took an agonizing three hours. After narrating her ordeal on X (formerly Twitter), the then-GRP commissioner, Quaiser Khalid, initiated an inquiry into the conduct of the police personnel, leading to the prompt arrest of the accused, Biharilal Yadav, within three days. On the morning of Sunday, Yadav rang the victim’s doorbell, finding her and her parents asleep. He appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. When asked multiple times by the victim’s mother how he had obtained their address, Yadav persistently claimed that he had received it from the police. He continued to shout the victim’s name, causing a commotion that attracted other residents of the housing complex. To make Yadav leave, the victim’s elderly father had to repeatedly assure him that they would withdraw the complaint. The victim stated, “This individual is homeless. There is no way he could have deciphered court documents or used the internet to access my address.” Following the incident, she took to X once more to share her harrowing experience. “After my tweet, a senior police officer contacted me and, for about ten minutes, engaged in a rude conversation about jurisdiction, emphasizing that her case was under the purview of the GRP rather than the city police. The call was deeply distressing,” she revealed. She expressed her frustration by saying, “In this country, obtaining justice seems to hinge on having a substantial social media presence, being proficient in English to reach a wider audience, having internet access, and owning a smartphone to seek basic safety via an app.” She also noted that the GRP had never informed her about the filing of the chargesheet or Yadav’s release on bail. The police have registered a non-cognizable complaint and intend to take preventive measures against Yadav. They also plan to request the railway police to revoke his bail.