Close on the heels of rape of a woman in a state transport bus in Thane district, two NRI girls from California were molested by a bunch of New Year revellers at the famous Juhu beach in Mumbai, putting people and the authorities of this metropolis to shame.

 The girls, who were on vacation in India and had come to Mumbai from Valsad, had gone to J W Marriott hotel to see Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu's show. They came out with their two male friends at around 1.45 am. They were going towards the nearby Juhu beach, which was packed with revellers on the New Year. As they began walking, a group of around 40 hooligans began following them and teasing the girls. One of the girls shouted back but by the time the mob had swelled to almost 70 persons. 

The worst was to follow. The hooligans trapped the two girls near a vehicle and a tree and pounced on them. A man even tore off the black dress wore by one of the girl, and pushed them down. The two male companions were overpowered by the same crowd and they watched the disgusting scene helplessly.

As the girls fell on the ground, many of the hooligans actually jumped on them.

Fortunately, two newspaper photographers were nearby, who took pictures of the event and immediately alerted the police. A traffic patrol came to the spot and chased the crowd away. The two girls were then taken to the Juhu police station and later were allowed to go without registering any complaint.

When the pictures of the girls being molested appeared in a city newspaper, the first reaction of the Mumbai Commissioner of Police D N Jadhav was that the incident was being “blown out of proportion”.

He said molestion could happen anywhere and in this case too the police did whatever they could do to rescue the girls. Mumbai Additional Commissioner of Police Archana Tyagi initially said that adequate police security had been maintained near the five star hotel and beach and no complaint of molestation was registered with the police.

ONE HELD IN KOCHI CASE
Thiruvananthapuram, DHNS: The police have arrested a 17-year-old youth in connection with the harassment meted out to a Swedish girl on New Year’s eve at Fort Kochi.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said security would be stepped up in tourist centres in view of the molestation case.

“It is an isolated but serious incident which shows Keralites and our culture in poor light. The police have suo motu registered a case since the victims have not complained. Strong action will be taken against the perpetrators,’’ the minister said here.

A group of youngsters had attacked some tourists who were attending the traditional new year revelry at the famed Fort Kochi beach.