KOCHI: A 35-year-old man was arrested for allegedly groping a woman police officer who was on duty at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kaloor, during the Indian Super League (ISL) match between Kerala Blasters and ATK Mohun Bagan on Sunday night. The incident occurred around 8.30pm during half-time. Arun M Thomas of Kanjikkuzhi, Kottayam, who resides in Bengaluru, allegedly misbehaved with the woman civil police officer deployed at one of the pavilions by touching her inappropriately. “When the officer confronted him, Arun tried to flee.
She attempted to block him but he twisted her arms, injuring her,” said a police officer. However, Arun was restrained and taken into custody with the help of another officer who witnessed the entire incident. The Palarivattom police were alerted and Arun was taken to the station, where his arrest was recorded. The police have registered a case under IPC section 353 (assaults or uses criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage her modesty) 353A (physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures) and 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) -- all non-bailable offences.
A police officer said the victim was in a state of shock. “We will produce the accused before the court. Usually, fans coming for football matches in Kochi never indulge in such acts. This is an isolated incident. Women can come to the stadium to watch football matches without any apprehension,” said the officer. Long duty hours Police personnel deployed at the stadium for security duty during ISL matches are concerned about the long duty hours.
Memes and messages in this regard are being circulated on social media groups of police officers. During ISL matches, police personnel are deployed at the stadium from 11am to late at night. One of the memes was about a 55-year-old police officer on security duty for 12 hours hearing the fans appreciating the stamina of football players who play without rest for 45 minutes.