KOLKATA: Less than a week since the formation of a resistance group in New Town — meant to enhance women safety — two men were nabbed by cops following an alert from a group member. The two men had allegedly teased two young women walking back home at BC Block in New Town on Thursday night.
Around 10.15pm on Thursday, two women in their 20s were walking home along a fairly desolate stretch of New Town Street no 131 when two youths allegedly teased and passed lewd remarks at them. The men were labourers, who were unloading sand from a truck parked along the road.
“We were walking back home after completing a Durga Puja community programme rehearsal, when the two men began passing lewd remarks and taunting us. We shouted back but they started using slang as we retreated,” said one of the women.
While the incident was happening, five men — volunteers on evening shift — were taking a round of the area. They learnt about the incident from the women and rushed to the spot. While one of them called the local police station, others started keeping the accused persons engaged in conversation and clicked photographs and sent it to the local police station’s officer-in-charge, along with a google location of the area as instructed.
“The cops were quick to act. I had called the police around 10.15pm and they were at the spot within 10 minutes. The two men were put into a police vehicle and taken out by 10.30pm,” said Soumyadip Maity, a 35-year-old techie and one of the volunteers.
Formed last week, the resistance group members are tasked to patrol areas near their homes or as assigned by the cops, while doing their morning and evening walks. They have been asked to alert cops whenever they notice something suspicious or illegal, without intervening physically.
The two labourers, residents of Rajarhat, were arrested under prohibitory sections but later released on bail after the women decided against lodging an FIR. “We learnt the two youths were not dreaded criminals and this was their first offence. The arrest would have ruined their careers and so we decided to give them a second chance,” said one of the victims.
