A man was arrested for allegedly molesting his co-passenger on a bus on EM Bypass on Tuesday morning, police said.

The woman was headed to her office in Phoolbagan.

The accused, a resident of Mukundapur, was arrested based on the woman’s complaint at Kasba police station, police said.

The arrest comes at a time thousands have hit the streets seeking greater security for women after the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.

The woman, who works for an NGO, alleged that a man outraged her modesty as the bus reached the Ruby crossing around 9.30am, the police said.

Some of the passengers and onlookers told the police the accused tried to get off the bus when the woman confronted him.

Some passengers on the bus caught hold of the accused and allegedly beat him up even as the woman kept screaming at the top of her voice, some of the witnesses told the police.

“The woman told us that when she confronted the man, he shot back saying if she was so uncomfortable travelling on buses, she should opt for app-cabs,” said a senior police officer.

Alarmed at her cries for help, a sergeant of the Kasba traffic guard reached the spot, adjacent to the Ruby rotary, asked the driver to stop the bus and rescued the man from the angry passengers.

The sergeant brought the accused and the complainant to Kasba police station
where the woman filed the complaint.

“We will record the statements of a few others, including the driver and the conductor, and collect CCTV footage from the area,” an officer said.