Man Stalks Fashion Designer In Mumbai, Is Arrested

In yet another case of stalking, a 37-year-old IT professional was arrested allegedly for stalking a fashion designer well past midnight.

Nitesh Sharma followed Aditi Nagpaul for nearly 45 minutes, after which he turned up at her doorstep. He stood outside her building, and even found out which flat she lived in. Then he rang her doorbell at around 2 am. When she opened the door, he said he wanted to talk to her. She started yelling and called for the security guard. Sharma left the building after that, but continued to hang around the area. He kept staring at her flat. The woman had the presence of mind to take pictures of him, so that the police could identify him later. The man fled after the security guard questioned him.

The next day, Nagpaul registered a case of stalking under Section 354(D) of the Indian Penal Code.

The incident took place at around 1 am on Monday (August 7) when the woman was returning home with a friend from the Seven Bungalows area in Andheri West. The man, who is an IT professional from Hyderabad, started following her in his car. The Amboli police have arrested Sharma from his Malad residence.

Nagpaul wrote about her experience on Facebook. “In the last 10 years, I’ve always felt safe in Bombay, and in the same breath have always cursed Delhi! But last night showed me a different side to my ‘not so safe anymore’ city! 2 women and 2 kids in a car together don’t stop a random man from stalking and following you upto your house and ringing your door bell at 2am!” she wrote.

Being stalked?Report crime to enable us track D stalker down.A 36 yr old IT Engineer arrested by Amboli Pstn for stalking 2 women #Dial100 pic.twitter.com/a687iWo9UP

— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) August 8, 2017

Earlier this week, two men in a car, including a BJP leader's son, chased, terrorised and tried to kidnap 29-year-old Varnika Kundu. Despite the various incidents of stalking in the country, many still think of stalking as an act of 'mischief', and blame women who go out late at night. What's more, stalking has become a normative way of wooing a woman, Bollywood has played a major part in this. We need to build awareness that stalking is a crime which is harmful, and is no way equal to wooing somebody.

Also Read: Chandigarh Stalking: Cops Get Footage of Duo Chasing Varnika