A 13-year-old was made to strip and was assaulted by eight women who suspected that she was disposing of sanitary pads publicly in the backyard of a residential area in Borivali. A case was registered against the eight women. Mumbai police booked all eight women involved in this case on June 24. The women are accused of forcing their way into the girl’s home and allegedly undressing her and assaulting her mother. The police officials said that the incident happened in March at the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) staff quarters in Borivali, but the family recently filed a complaint.
As per the girl’s mother, four women staying in the same locality entered their home with four unidentified women. The defendants were frustrated, and they stated that they believed the complainant’s daughter was disposing of used sanitary products and underwear in the communal backyard. The mother-daughter duo in the First Information Report (FIR) stated that the eight women mistreated them and tried to inspect the teenage girl’s underwear; they dragged her forcefully and stripped her. The girl’s mother also alleges that they touched the girl inappropriately and used profane language.
An official from the Borivali Police mentioned that the complainant’s family already has an ongoing conflict with the accused regarding allotment of rooms at the BEST staff quarters. The accused women had filed a complaint with the BEST administration against the complainant’s family. The official said, “Earlier, the complainant woman filed a police complaint against the same set of accused women over the disrobing incident, but withdrew it later. As she filed a complaint again, we recorded her statement and booked all eight women on Tuesday. No arrest has been made yet, and the probe is on.”
Section 74 (criminal force with intent to outrage her modesty), Section 76 (criminal force to a woman with intent to disrobe), Section 79 (words intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and Section 329(4) (criminal trespassing) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 8 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act are the sections under which these eight women are booked by the police.