A Railway Police Force constable was booked after one year of the incident when a woman filed a molestation complaint against him at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai. The accused constable was booked for outraging the modesty of a woman passenger.
The police registered an FIR on Tuesday, 12 months after the alleged incident took place at CSMT station, which had gone unreported due to the woman's fear after the incident. A 39-year-old victim of molestation is a resident of Nagpur and was at the CSMT in June 2024. According to the complaint, she was going back to Nagpur from Gujarat's Valsad after visiting her sister.
The woman arrived late at night at the CSMT station and sat on a bench alone outside the police station near the platform after her train got delayed. On the same night, at around 2 am, the accused RPF constable, who was on night duty, approached the woman on the pretext of inquiring. He demanded sexual favours after seeing her alone in the area. He also touched her physically.
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Seeing this, a passing commuter confronted the RPF constable, which led to the arrival of other police personnel at the spot. However, fearing backlash and humiliation, the woman refused to lodge a complaint at the time of the incident and quietly left the station.
Karale transferred to the police headquarters following internal murmurs. Nearly a year later, on Tuesday, the woman returned to CSMT Police Station accompanied by her father and narrated the entire episode. After recording her detailed statement, the police registered an FIR against Constable Karale under Sections 354 and 354(A) Of IPC.