Molesters made to clean streets in Thane

In a unique punishment handed out by the Bombay High Court, four molesters were made to clean roads within the jurisdiction of the Naupada police station for eight hours — from 7am to 11am and from 4pm to 7pm — on Sunday. The order came in after the four were found guilty in a half murder and molestation case during the Navratri festival last year.

The accused — identified as Amit Adkhale, Aniket Jadhav, Milind More and Suhas Thakur — were booked under Section 354, 324, 323, 504 of 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

According to the complaint made on October 22, 2015, the accused, who are a resident of Bhiwandi, had come to Naupada to play Dandiya in inebriated state. They started teasing and making obscene gestures towards a group of women standing next to them.

A man accompanying the women asked them to stop but in turn he was beaten by the youths. The four were then caught by the members of the Navratri mandal in Chandanwadi and a complaint was registered at Naupada police station.

Talking about the punishment, a police officer from Naupada police station said: "The accused have done their job for the day. They were asked to sweep the floor for eight hours and they will continue this work for the next six months. A punishment like this serves well for people like them. While they were sweeping the floor, a few people clicked their photographs."

Dipika Pingale, a resident from Thane, said: "The punishment which they were given and that too in the area where they committed the crime is too good. The accused should have been given one year punishment so that the other criminals might think before committing such crimes."

Senior police inspector from Naupada area A Survase said: "The four accused have done their work for the day and a police official always keeps a watch on them."