Three people have been arrested in Ulhasnagar, on the outskirts of Mumbai, after a video of a woman being assaulted, stripped, having her hair chopped off, and paraded with a garland of slippers over a temple entry dispute went viral.
The Thane police said the woman and the accused are balloon sellers belonging to the Vaghri community and have registered cases against each other. The accused, the woman’s relatives, alleged that she insulted their deities, following which they directed her not to enter the temple.
Shankar Avtade, Senior Inspector of Ulhasnagar Central police station, said the incident occurred on Thursday in the Vitthal Wadi area of Ulhasnagar. While two accused were arrested on Friday, one was arrested on Saturday.
“The relatives alleged that she had said insulting things about their deities. We are verifying the allegations,” he added. The officer said that the two sides have had disputes in the past, and the accused had earlier registered an FIR against the woman.
“In the current case, we have arrested three people seen roughing up the woman and are on the lookout for four others. We will also go through CCTV footage and record statements of those present to get clarity, as a lot of rumours are doing the rounds,” the officer said.
The FIR has been registered in the case under sections 118 (2) (Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 115 (2) (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 351 (2)(3) (criminal intimidation punishment), 352 (intentional insult provoking breach of trust) and 189 (unlawful assembly) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.