Girl loses cool, slaps man inside court

Ishrat S Banwait

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 12

A 20-year-old girl, who was present in the court, on Thursday to attend the hearing of an assault case that she had filed against her neighbour last year, slapped the accused in the court in the presence of the Judge.

The victim said she lost her cool when the accused made false accusations against her mother in the court.

Dharmender is facing trial in a year-old case after being booked under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 506 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the IPC.

On Thursday, the victim’s mother was recording her statement in the court when the accused said that he was receiving death threats from the girl’s mother. This is when the girl slapped him and later said he had been making obscene gestures to her all day but she had been quiet.

However, she could not hold back when he made false accusations against her mother. The Judge, however, warned the girl for her actions.

Withdrew girl from school to prevent harassment: Mom

The FIR in the case, which was registered on the complaint of the mother of the victim, states that she withdrew her daughter from the school to prevent harassment by the accused. The complaint mentions that the girl used to study in a government school and Dharminder used to abuse and tease her. They thus decided that she would stop going to the school so that she did not have to face the accused every day.

The victim claims that she was being harassed by the accused since 2012. He used to abuse and harass her. She had once approached the Sector 24 police post as well but a compromise was reached between both families. However, the accused did not stop harassing her and last year he harassed her when she was alone at home. She alleged that he held her hand and threatened to kill her if she did not talk to the accused.

Speaking about Thursday’s incident, the girl said: “I am being harassed for such a long time. I am not in the best shape mentally. I could take in the harassment I faced, but I could not listen to false accusations against my mother.”

The girl narrated the incident to the mother when she returned home who in turn talked to Dharmender’s family. However, four months later the accused started harassing the girl again and the family approached the police. The police then lodged an FIR and booked him.