"As the woman was married, she refused his proposals."
A newly married Indian woman was allegedly molested by a young man when she went shopping. He groped her after she refused his marriage proposal.
The 25-year-old resident of Gurgaon, New Delhi, reported her ordeal to the police and it led to the man’s arrest.
The incident happened on Sunday, September 29, 2019, and the man was arrested the next day. He was identified as Vineet Kataria.
It was reported that the woman had gone to the market for shopping when Kataria allegedly molested her.
According to the police, Kataria was from the area and runs a roadside food stall. Officers said he confessed to the crime.
Gurgaon police officer Subhash Bokan explained that Kataria had been harassing the woman for a while and regularly requested a relationship with her and even marriage.
However, the woman refused his proposals as she was married. He said:
“Kataria had been following the victim for long and had proposed friendship and marriage. As the woman was married, she refused his proposals. But the accused continued to follow her.”
When Kataria proposed to her again, the woman threatened to call the police.
This prompted the man to grab the newly married Indian woman and groped her. Officer Bokan added:
“On Sunday when Kataria again proposed the woman, she got angry and threatened him of police complaint.
“An irked Kataria then dragged her to the middle of the road and groped her.”
As the incident happened on the road, witnesses helped the shaken woman back to her home where she explained what happened to her husband.
Meanwhile, some locals tried to grab Kataria but he was able to flee the scene. Officer Bokan said:
“The couple on Sunday filed a complaint of molestation and assault at the Sector 5 police station.”
Police officers investigated the crime and identified the criminal after speaking to witnesses. Kataria was eventually arrested and taken into custody where he confessed to molesting the woman.
Incidents of sexual assault and rape against women are extremely common in India.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), it is the fourth most common crime.
Some victims have failed to report the incident over the fear of being judged by the community. However, police data showed that in 2018 that was an increase in the number of reported cases.
Despite there being more cases reported, the conviction rates have decreased. One of the main reasons is due to slow court proceedings.