On Monday, the Pune Police arrested a person named Raees Shaikh for molesting a 19-year-old engineering student in the Yewalewadi area of the city. Shaikh is 40-years-old and claims to be associated with the Zomato food delivery company.
According to the reports, the incident is said to have happened on September 17 at around 9 pm when the teenage girl ordered dinner from Zomato. She was alone at home when Shaikh arrived at her apartment to deliver her order. He then asked her for a glass of water. In the meantime, he observed her apartment and learned that she was alone residing in the space.
Maharashtra | Pune City Police arrested a food delivery man for allegedly molesting a girl in Yewalewadi; later released on bail
— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2022
Girl alleges she ordered on Zomato, Raees Shaikh came for delivery&asked for water. When she gave him water, he pulled her close&molested her: Police
As soon as the girl gave him the glass of water, he held her hand tight to ‘express gratitude’. The girl tried to free her hand but could not. Shaikh then forcefully pulled the girl closer, kissed her twice on her cheek, and said, “thank you”. The girl immediately called the Kondhwa Police and narrated the incident that happened in a well-known residential complex in the city.
Sub-inspector Sachin Khetmalis confirmed the incident and registered a complaint against Shaikh. According to the complaint, the delivery boy had arrived on the 5th floor of the building to deliver the dinner parcel ordered by the victim girl. “He asked for water as he was thirsty. After drinking the water, he caught hold of the girl’s hands forcibly and touched her inappropriately. He then tried to flee from the spot but the girl raised an alarm. The residents of the building caught the suspect and handed him over to police”, Khetmalis was quoted.
According to the local reports, the girl is an engineering student and resides in an apartment in Pune on rent. After the incident, the girl first called the landlord who later contacted the police. The girl then visited the Kondhwa Police Station and registered an official complaint against the food delivery person.
Earlier a similar incident was reported from Pune where the police had arrested a food delivery executive for sexually harassing an 8-year-old girl in the Bavdhan area. The accused was a native of Tuljapur in Osmanabad and had gone to a building to deliver the food parcel. He had sexually harassed the minor girl who was returning to her home in the same building after playing at around 1:30 pm.
In the current case, the Pune Police arrested Raees Shaikh and booked him under sections 354 (outraging modesty of a woman) and 354 (a) (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code. The Police said that the charge sheet would be filed against him upon completion of the investigation. However, the accused has been released on bail.
OpIndia tried to contact Kondhwa Police for additional details but the call remained unanswered. According to TOI, the food delivery partner Zomato has stated that the accused, Raees Shaikh, was never associated with their platform. Further investigations into the case are underway.
