Ulhasnagar civic body officer booked for sexually harassing junior staff member in Thane

Thane: Police have filed an FIR against a senior officer of the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) in Maharashtra's Thane district for allegedly sexually harassing a junior staff member, an official said on Wednesday.

The 42-year-old victim, a clerk, in her complaint said the accused (46) would frequently call her to his cabin on some pretext, touch her inappropriately and seek sexual favours, the official at the central police station of Ulhasnagar said.

The alleged incidents took place at the corporation office between April 2022 and July 2023, he said.

Based on the complaint, police on Tuesday registered an FIR against the accused under sections 354 (assault or use of criminal force to outrage modesty of woman), 354 (a) (sexual harassment) and 509 (words, gestures, or acts intended to insult a woman's modesty) of the old Indian Penal Code (IPC), the official said, adding a probe was underway.

The victim told the police she could not file a complaint earlier as her father suffered from cancer and she was busy attending to him.