Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken some strict steps in response to a serious mishandling of a molestation case in Lucknow. This action includes the transfer of three senior police officers and the suspension of an entire police chowki staff. Yogi suspended the entire police station inorder to set an example for future cases like this.
The incident occurred in the upscale Gomtinagar area. A woman riding on the back of a bike was harassed by a mob. This group splashed rainwater on her pushed her off the bike and groped her. The event was caught on video and quickly went viral. Despite the clear evidence the Gomtinagar police initially filed an FIR with less severe charges. They cited sections 272 (a malignant act to spread infection) and 285 (obstruction of public way) but did not include charges related to sexual crimes.
The #UPPolice have arrested 16 persons for allegedly harassing a woman while she was riding a pillion on a bike in #Lucknow's #GomtiNagar amid heavy rains in the city.
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) August 2, 2024
On Thursday, #UttarPradesh CM #YogiAdityanath listed the names of two accused in the Gomti Nagar harassment… pic.twitter.com/Uzc0cfd6YW
Yogi Suspended Entire Police Station
The FIR was later amended to include more serious charges. These included sections 191 (2), 3 (5), 272, 285, and 74, which relate to outraging a woman’s modesty. This change came after the strict instructions from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He emphasized that anyone endangering women’s safety would face severe consequences.
As a result of this incident, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered the removal of three senior police officers and Yogi suspended the entire police station. These were Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) East Prabal Pratap Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) East Amit Kumawat, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Gomtinagar Anshu Jain. Additionally the inspector of the Gomtinagar police station Deepak Kumar Pandey along with four cops posted at Samtamoolak chowki were also suspended.
The suspended chowki staff included in-charge Rishi Vivek, inspector Kapil Kumar and constables Dharamveer and Virendra Kumar. The Samtamoolak chowki is located just one kilometer from the crime scene.
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Arrests and Ongoing Investigations
The police have arrested 16 suspects so far. Raids are ongoing to capture the remaining individuals involved in the incident. Lucknow Police Commissioner Amarendra Kumar Sengar confirmed the arrests of Pawan Yadav and Sunil Kumar on Wednesday night.
Mohammad Arbaaz and Viraj Sahu were apprehended on Thursday. Other suspects arrested include Arjun Agrahari, Ratan Gupta, Aman Gupta, Anil Kumar, Priyanshu Sharma, Ashish Singh, Vikas Bhandari, Manish Kumar Saroj, Abhishek Tiwari, Krishnakant Gupta, Jai Kishan, and Abhishek Sahu.
The #UPPolice have arrested 16 persons for allegedly harassing a woman while she was riding a pillion on a bike in #Lucknow's #GomtiNagar amid heavy rains in the city.
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) August 2, 2024
On Thursday, #UttarPradesh CM #YogiAdityanath listed the names of two accused in the Gomti Nagar harassment… pic.twitter.com/Uzc0cfd6YW
Police Response
The incident took place during a two-hour downpour which caused waterlogging at an underpass near the Taj hotel in Gomtinagar. A group of men gathered at this spot and began harassing commuters. Videos posted on social media showed these men targeting bikers and women. They also kicked car windows and headlights. The police only arrived after the videos sparked a social media uproar eventually dispersing the mob.
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