A 20-year-old woman confronted a 53-year-old man for alleged molestation inside a Mumbai local train.
VASAI: “What difference does it make?” was the response a 53-year-old man allegedly gave a 20-year-old woman when she confronted him for molesting her inside a Mumbai local train. The exchange soon escalated into a physical altercation at Naigaon station, where the man allegedly pushed her onto the tracks. As she tried to climb back onto the platform, the train began moving, crushing her left arm below the elbow. The woman, who got married just five months ago, had gone to Malad on November 4 to buy a phone. With trains packed, she travelled to Borivli and boarded a Virar-bound slow local. She mistakenly entered the compartment reserved for persons with disabilities. According to her complaint, a man later identified as Jitendra Hirmukhe (53) repeatedly pushed against her inside the crowded compartment. Initially, she ignored him, but when the train reached Bhayander, he allegedly began touching her inappropriately. Both got off at Naigaon station around 7.15pm, where the woman confronted Hirmukhe. Instead of backing off, he allegedly touched her inappropriately again and asked her, “What difference does it make?” Angered by his response, the woman took off her slipper and threw it at him. Hirmukhe allegedly abused her, removed his own slipper and hit her with it. The train was still standing at the platform, and several passengers gathered as the confrontation escalated. Hirmukhe allegedly pushed the woman, causing her to fall onto the tracks into the gap between two coaches. As she tried to climb back onto the platform, the train started moving. She fell into the platform gap, and her left arm came under the train's wheels. The arm was severed below the elbow. Hirmukhe fled the spot. The woman was initially taken to a hospital in Vasai and later shifted to a Mumbai hospital for further treatment. She is undergoing treatment at a civic hospital. Bhayander railway police examined CCTV footage from the station and traced Hirmukhe to his residence in Wakipada, Naigaon East. He was arrested on November 9, five days after the incident. He originally hails from Dharashiv district.
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“He has stomach cancer and was travelling in the compartment reserved for persons with disabilities. We traced him with the help of CCTV footage and arrested him from Naigaon,” said Ganpat Tumbada, senior inspector, Bhayander railway police. Police initially registered a case under sections 74 (molestation), 117(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) and 352 (intentional insult) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Section 109 (attempt to murder) was subsequently added. Hirmukhe is in judicial custody. The woman has demanded the strictest punishment for the accused. “Despite having done nothing wrong, I had to go through this ordeal. I have permanently lost one of my arms... I want justice,” she said in her statement.
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