Pune: Pritamkumar Surendra Gupta, a 26-year-old employee of a reputed bank, has been granted bail by Special District Judge K.P. Kshirsagar. Gupta was accused of stalking and molesting a 17-year-old minor girl by persistently following her and demanding her mobile number.
The incident occurred on June 21, 2024, when the victim was taking her younger sister home from school. Gupta allegedly followed them, causing the girl to become suspicious and take a photo of his bike's number plate.
A similar incident occurred on June 24, 2024, with Gupta following the victim and again demanding her mobile number. The frightened girl continued walking, but Gupta persisted in following her.
Gupta then blocked her path once more and said, "I like you, give me your mobile number." The girl responded, "I won't give you my mobile number, I don't know you," and took another photo of his bike's number plate, causing Gupta to flee. Upon reaching home, the girl informed her mother about the incident.
The victim and her mother reported the unknown individual's bike number to the Nigdi Police. The Nigdi Police traced the bike number through the RTO office, found Gupta's address, and arrested him on June 25, 2024. Since then, Gupta had been in judicial custody at Yerawada Jail.
In court, Advocate Harshvardhan Milind Pawar, Advocate Rutuja Naik, and Advocate Sarang Bahirat argued that Gupta was arrested based solely on suspicion and the bike's number.
Defence lawyers pointed out that there were CCTV cameras at the scene, but the footage was not seized by the police. They also argued that it was not proven that Gupta was riding the bike on the days of the incidents. The court, after hearing the arguments, granted Gupta bail on a surety bond of Rs. 50,000.
