Calcutta, March 24: The spurt in crime against women continued as three motorcycle-borne youths passed lewd comments at a 22-year-old woman — escorted by her husband — near Raj Bhavan last night.
One of them, Ravi Shankar, even got down from the bike and walked menacingly towards the woman.
The petrified couple screamed for help and luckily attracted the attention of a police patrol van in the area.
Deputy commissioner of police, central, Zulfiquar Hasan said police today arrested the three youths, Chandu, Chintu and Shankar, and charged them with “eve-teasing”.
A week earlier, there were a series of incidents where girls were teased on Park Street, in the Lakes and on Sarat Bose Road. In all the cases, the police managed to arrest the culprits.
Last night’s incident occurred around 9.30 pm, shortly after the India-Australia match got over.
The couple had come to Esplanade for shopping and had dined in a central Calcutta restaurant. They were walking down the pavement on Old Court House Street towards a bus stop.
The youths spotted the couple and pulled up beside them on their bike.
According to officers of the Hare Street police station, they initially whistled and made catcalls at the woman. The couple ignored it and kept walking. Then the youths began to say things like “Hai meri jaan”, “Tumse milne ko dil karta hain”.
The couple began to walk faster, hoping they would speed away. Instead, Shankar got off the bike and began to walk towards the woman.
Sensing trouble, the couple screamed. “The husband shouted at the top of his voice for help,” a policeman said. Fortunately, a police van patrolling the area heard the shouts and turned.
On seeing the police van approach, Chintu and Chandu on the mobike accelerated and sped away leaving Ravi. “He began to run but was caught by the policemen,” an officer of the Hare Street police station said.
During interrogation, Ravi revealed the whereabouts of Chintu and Chandu. The police raided the place in the night but failed to track them. They were arrested today.
Investigations revealed Chintu and Chandu are brothers and Ravi is a relative. Chintu’s father is a businessman and they stay in Burrabazar.