2 MU professors held for molesting colleague, staff

Two Mumbai University professors were Friday arrested for allegedly molesting a lecturer, a librarian and a sweeper, all of them women, at the Kalina Campus, police said.

Assistant sports teacher Nilesh Lohar (43) and Physical education department head B N Chougule (56) were arrested almost ten months after the alleged incident.

The complainants, all of them from the physical education department claimed that neither the varsity officials nor the police took the matter seriously.

They approached the higher police officials and moved the sessions court. The matter was taken up by the BKC police which registered an FIR under IPC sections 354 for assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty, 506 (2) for criminal intimidation and 509 for word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.

Among the other complaints was that the duo touched the female staff "inappropriately" and displayed exhibitionism in front of the female staff.

Police said the university had held a meeting and issued a warning to the duo after the victims approached them.

The sessions court on December 4 rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Chougule and Lohar and directed the BKC police to arrest them.

However,when no action was taken, the complaints approached the Police Commissioner to intervene.

"Even after the court order, Lohar and Chougule were not arrested. Only when I gave a letter enclosed with the court's order to the commissioner of police that the arrests were made on December 14," one of the victims said. There were three FIRs registered against the duo, one on August 28 by assistant sports teacher and the other two by the librarian and the sweeper on October 16.

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