A 63-year-old retired bank official has been arrested for allegedly molesting a 25-year-old woman on a Metro train between Park Street and Maidan stations on Saturday morning.
The woman has alleged that the man stalked her outside Maidan Metro station and gave her an obscene proposal.
Police said the woman shouted for help and called her friends over the phone. The friends and others who had gathered at the spot handed the man to a team from Shakespeare Sarani police station.
Officers of the police station said the accused was Kamalesh Ganguly, from Narendrapur.
According to the woman, the incident happened between 11.30am and noon on Saturday.
“The woman mentioned in her complaint that the accused was standing next to her in the Metro compartment and started a conversation with her about the study materials she was carrying. She has complained that the man held her hands tightly and uttered some objectionable words,” said an officer of the police station.
The woman, who was on her way to a library on Camac Street, had boarded the train at Park Street station and was planning to alight at Rabindra Sadan station.
“She said the man’s behaviour prompted her to change her plans. To get rid of the man, she alighted at Maidan station. But the man followed her out of the station, where he allegedly gave her an obscene proposal,” the officer said.
Ganguly was arrested in the afternoon and produced in Bankshal court on Sunday. Public prosecutor Tarak Mandal said the accused had been remanded in judicial custody till June 15.
“The woman has alleged that the accused person, named Kamalesh Ganguly, had touched her indecently in a Metro compartment and stalked her outside. The accused submitted a bail prayer saying he had to take care of his 86-year-old ailing mother, but the prayer was turned down,” Mandal said outside the court on Sunday.
The police said they had submitted a prayer to record the statement of the woman before the magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC. The court granted the prayer.
Cop advisory
Kolkata police has appealed to the people through their social media pages to refrain from spreading misinformation that could hamper social harmony. Police issued phone numbers and a WhatsApp number to report violations. Lalbazar: 2214-1310/3024/3230; WhatsApp: 9432624365