French consulate staffer molested during midnight in Mumbai's Bandra, scrap dealer arrested within 24 hours of complaint

A 27-year-old French national, working with the consulate in Mumbai for some time, was allegedly molested by a scooterist in the financial capital recently. The incident took place on November 8 at around 12.25 pm in Bandra recently when the woman was going back to her place after visiting her friend at Pali Hill, just around a kilometer away. When the woman was heading back to her place, the scooterist started following her, suddenly stopped next to her, molested her and sped away, police told TOI. The French consulate filed a complaint on November 14.

Accused held within 24 hours of complaint

After the French consulate staffer was allegedly molested in Mumbai, investigators examined more than 50 CCTV clips from the area and the suspect, Sunil Waghela (25) was identified. Using the scooter’s registration number, Khar police arrested him at his home — located about 100 metres from the Dharavi police station — on Saturday night, less than 24 hours after the French consulate filed a complaint.

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The accused Sunil Waghela, a scrap dealer from Dharavi, is now under scrutiny as police investigate whether he was stalking the woman and why he was in Bandra at such a late hour. "A few CCTV footage retrieved from the spot were overwritten, but we managed to retrieve footage of Waghela following the woman on a scooter. He stopped next to her and then sped away after molesting her," an officer from Khar police station told TOI. "It is suspected he had been stalking her for a few days."

FIR registered against accused

Police registered an FIR against the accused Sunil Waghela under BNS Section 74 for assault or use of criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty after the embassy coordinated with them on November 14. DCP (Zone IX) Dikshit Gedam formed a special team led by ACP Adikrao Pol and comprising senior inspector Sanjeev Dhumal, inspector Vaibhav Katkar, assistant inspector Bharat Satpute, and sub-inspectors Hanumant Kumbhare and Manik Ghogare. The team later laid a trap near the accused’s Dharavi residence to arrest him.

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"Waghela was caught late on Saturday after tracking his movement using technical assistance. When he was being taken away, his family members, relatives and people from his community created a ruckus before they were cleared by the police team," said the officer. Waghela was produced before the Sunday holiday court in Bandra, which remanded him in police custody till Monday. In March this year, police arrested a driver for allegedly molesting a 23-year-old woman with foreign armed force when she was returning to her ship docked off Mumbai Port Trust.