Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
In a bizarre incident, a notorious goon, chased a 20-year-old girl in Pundaliknagar and later forcibly entered her house in the night and molested the girl in front of her mother at the edge of a knife point.
The victim Rakhi (name changed) lives with her mother and younger brother. Her father died eight months ago. Rakhi is preparing for Banking Exams. On February 4, at 8.30 pm, she was returning from her banking classes and was passing through Shivajinagar on foot, the goon Sainath alias Pratik Ganesh Khadke (21, Bharatnagar) chased her. When the girl screamed for help the accused abused her and left the place. Ironically, at 11.45 pm, the accused Pratik along with two accomplices came and forcibly entered the Rakhi’s house. The accomplices were in inebriated conditions. They sprayed on the faces of Rakhi and her mother and placed the knife at the neck of Rakhi’s mother. Later on, Pratik pulled Rakhi and touched her body with bad intentions. The two ladies screamed for help. Hence the local residents and neighbours rushed to their help. However, the goons to save themselves ran away from the spot. Acting upon the information, the Pundaliknagar police traced the whereabouts and succeeded in arresting Pratik on Sunday night.
According to residents this is the fifth incident in the locality since January 30. The accused had come out of the Harsul Jail a fortnight ago. He has been booked by Pundaliknagar and Satara police stations in five serious cases regarding molestation, attempt to murder, theft etc. He is a member of a notorious gang and openly challenges the police through social media. He was shifted to Harsul Jail for one year under MPDA on January 4, 2023. He resumed his criminal activities after stepping out of the jail, some 15 days ago. The residents of Bharatnagar, Shivajinagar, Pundaliknagar and surrounding areas have submitted memorandums to the senior officials, but no action has been taken to protect them from the growing threat and nuisance by the goons. The criminal activities are also captured in the CCTV cameras then also the police is failing to take action against these goons.