Man stalks social media executive for seven months in Mumbai; booked

Mumbai: A case has been registered against a 34-year-old man for allegedly stalking a woman employee of a diamond company in south Mumbai for the last seven months despite warning from cops and getting thrashed once by a crowd, an official has said.

Police have identified the accused as Vicky Rajesh Gupta, a resident of Nallasopara in adjoining Palghar district.

According to the 27-year-old complainant, who works as a social media executive and lives in south-central Mumbai, the accused had been stalking her since January, the official said on Thursday.

The woman, who commutes daily to her office, noticed Gupta had been following her for quite some time. On several occasions, she spotted him travelling on the same BEST-run civic transport bus as she did from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus bus depot to Charni Road in south Mumbai, the official said.

One day in January, the accused tried to hold her hand and later in the day he was again spotted near the CSMT bus depot while following her, said the official, citing the complaint.

As she shouted for help, passers-by caught hold of Gupta and thrashed him, he said.

On January 16, the accused again boarded the bus on which the woman was travelling. Sensing trouble, she immediately contacted her office colleagues and called them to a Charni Road bus stop. They caught the accused and took him to the D B Marg Police Station, where he was given a warning and let off, said the official.

Earlier this month, Gupta again started following the woman. On Wednesday, he followed the victim from Charni Road to the CSMT bus stop, he said.

Finally, a case was registered against the accused under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section related to stalking at the Azad Maidan Police Station, the official said.