Woman groped on flooded Lucknow road, 16 held; 8 cops face action

A woman was groped by a rowdy group on a waterlogged street in Lucknow, prompting the arrest of 16 men, action against eight policemen including a deputy commissioner of police and a cryptic remark in the assembly by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He said a "bullet train" will be run for the offenders.

The alleged offenders were arrested after the woman who was riding pillion on a motorcycle was targeted Wednesday on a waterlogged street in the posh Gomti Nagar area.

Five police personnel, including the local police station in-charge, were suspended for negligence. And deputy commissioner of police (East Lucknow), additional DCP and assistant commissioner of police were shunted, an official statement said Thursday.

While speaking in the assembly on the state's supplementary budget, the chief minister referred to the incident, naming two of the alleged offenders.

“The first criminal is Pawan Yadav, the other criminal is Mohammed Arbaaz. These are people of ‘sadbhavna' (goodwill)," he said, and suggested that no ‘Sadbhavna train' will be run for them.

“Inkey liye bullet train chalegi, chinta mat karo (The bullet train will run for them, don't worry)," Adityanath told the House.

“And preparations are being made for the bullet train,” he said, adding that anyone who plays with women's safety will bear the consequences.

A video on social media shows a group of men splashing water on a motorcycle as it wades through the waterlogged road. The men quickly surround the motorcycle and some start pulling it from behind.

Amidst the melee, while the man driving the motorcycle tries to push through, at least one of the accused gropes the woman who is riding pillion. The men stop pulling the motorcycle only when the woman falls down.

"Taking cognizance of the incident, an FIR was lodged at Gomti Nagar police station. Police formed four different teams, including a crime team, to apprehend the culprits,” a police statement said.

"As a result, 16 accused were arrested and based on the evidence collected and the CCTV footage, additional relevant sections have been added to the FIR," it said.

The accused were booked under sections 191(2) (rioting) and 74 (assault or use of criminal force with intent to outrage modesty) and other provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, it said.

Lucknow police commissioner Amrendra Kumar Sengar said two of the arrested accused, Pawan Yadav and Sunil Kumar, were identified through CCTV footage on Wednesday night.

They led police to two others, Mohammed Arbaaz and Viraj Sahu.

Acknowledging "apparent negligence" in handling the situation, the police statement said DCP (East Lucknow) Prabal Pratap Singh, Additional DCP Amit Kumawat and ACP Anshu Jain have been removed from their positions with immediate effect.

Inspector in-charge Deepak Kumar Pandey, police post in-charge Rishi Vivek and three other police personnel present at the 'chowki' -- sub-inspector Kapil Kumar and constables Dharmveer and Virendra Kumar -- were suspended, the statement said.