May 16 (Mid-day): Running riot on the streets of Malwani and harassing the public, the Local Arms Unit constable is even seeing hitting, groping and forcibly kissing a eunuch; his act has been caught on camera by a local

It takes just one bad fish to sully the pond, or the name of an entire police force. And constable AR Pawar has done just that - with much impunity. In a video recorded on Friday night by a local, the personnel of the local arms unit of Marol police is seen getting drunk in public, assaulting and molesting a eunuch, and terrorising passers-by for two hours on a busy road in Malwani, a stone’s throw away from police beat chowky-1.

Locals said dozens of sex workers assemble every night on the road. Around 8 pm on Friday, a drunk Pawar arrived at a sugarcane cart on the road, asked for sugarcane stalks and allegedly started thrashing passers-by. “He stood in the middle of the road and began terrorising people. He also hurled abuses at them,” said an eyewitness.

Pawar then allegedly commanded a passer-by to fetch him some liquor from a nearby shop.

Targeting sex workers

The video shows him teetering around with a bottle of liquor in hand, accosting a eunuch at the liquor store, beating her up with a sugarcane stalk and trying to kiss her. The eunuch wriggled out of his grip and jumped, with an accompanying friend, into an autorickshaw nearby. But Pawar followed her and molested her. The eunuch was able to get away only after her friend intervened.

Extortion too

Locals alleged that Pawar also molested other sex workers and tried to extort money from them, which has not been caught in the video. After creating more havoc on the streets for two hours, the constable boarded an autorickshaw and went his way.

Sources said while Pawar unleashed his terror on sex workers, not a single passer-by intervened.

'Set an example'

Shantilal Bhamare, DCP of the local arms unit of Kole Kalyan who holds the additional charge of the Marol police’s LA division, said he had no information of Pawar’s misdemeanour and said he would look into the issue. Former DCP of Marol division, Sanjay Jambulkar, who retired last week, said high-handed cops should be punished as an example for others.