3 more held for harassing Union minister Khadse's daughter, friends in Jalgaon

Mumbai: The Jalgaon police on Monday arrested two more men and detained a minor boy in connection with the harassment of Union minister Raksha Khadse's daughter and some of her friends, an official said.

With this, four persons have been apprehended so far in the case.

Seven persons have been named in the FIR, registered on the complaint of Khadse at Muktainagar police station in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district in connection with the incident that occurred at Sant Muktai Yatra in Kothali village there on February 28 night.

One person, Kiran Mali, was nabbed earlier, while the Jalgaon police arrested two more others - Aniket Bhoyi and Anuj Patil - and also apprehended a minor boy on Monday, the official from Muktainagar police station said.

Efforts were on to nab the other accused, he said.

The seven have been charged with stalking and other offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, while Information Technology Act provisions have been invoked since they tried to take pictures and videos of the girls without permission, according to police.

During the probe, the police found the accused allegedly misbehaved with several girls and even clashed with the bodyguards accompanying them.

A 17-year-old girl had made a complaint, and the bodyguards named the seven accused.

Talking to reporters on Sunday, BJP leader Khadse said, "I was in Gujarat, so my daughter called me to ask for permission to go. I asked her to take a guard and two to three staff members along. My daughter and her friends were followed and pushed, and their photos and videos were taken. When my staff objected, the boys resorted to unruly behaviour, and a mob of 30 to 40 people gathered." Khadse said when she returned home on Sunday morning, her daughter told her that the same group had misbehaved with her on February 24 at a public event.

"It is unfortunate. If such things happen to an MP or Union minister's daughter, imagine what common people have to go through," she said.

Khadse said some locals in Muktainagar told her that this group harassed girls on their way to school.

"I have spoken to the chief minister and the deputy superintendent of police," she said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday assured strict action in the case.