Surat, Apr 25 (PTI) A man was arrested in Gujarat's Surat district for allegedly stalking and sexually harassing a 16-year-old girl, an incident that sparked a massive late-night protest by nearly 700 locals outside a police station, an official said on Saturday.
The accused, Aziz Sheikh, was allegedly thrashed by onlookers before being rescued by a patrol van after he allegedly targeted the girl on Friday night.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Nidhi Thakur said that while an FIR was registered, police had to use mild force to disperse a mob that gathered outside the Althan police station late at night.
Sheikh (40) allegedly sexually harassed the girl while she was returning from her coaching classes in the Althan area, Thakur told PTI.
As the girl was harassed in public, people started thrashing the accused when a PCR van immediately reached the spot to arrest him.
The first information report (FIR) was registered in the presence of the victim's teacher and parents, and the accused is currently in police custody, the official said.
Sheikh has been booked under sections 75 (2) (sexual harassment) and 78 (2) (stalking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, police said.
The DCP further said that while the police were filing the complaint on Friday night, a large crowd of nearly 700 people gathered outside the police station.
"We tried to explain the legal process to them, but when they did not disperse, police used mild force to disperse the crowd," she added.
A large crowd gathered again on Saturday afternoon while police reconstructed the incident in the presence of the accused amid tight security.