TNN
- Between 9 pm on December 31 and the wee hours of January 1, police arrested 365 mischief mongers
Kolkata, Jan 4: When the clock struck midnight on New Year's eve, a horror story unfolded on Kolkata's entertainment hot spot. Bikes took control of Park Street, the nervecentre of Christmas and New Year revelry. And the transition from 2007 to 2008 was not without girls being groped by unknown hands, humiliated, some shedding tears; their companions struggling to protect and console them.
Police did arrest some of the tormentors but with tens of thousands of revellers crowding around, girls fell easy prey to eve-teasers and gropers.
TOI had carried an investigative report on the 2007 New Year's eve where revellers were snapped molesting girls on Park Street. It prompted a bigger deployment of police force, but they could not stop the horror re-run.
Between 9 pm on December 31 and the wee hours of January 1, police arrested 365 mischief mongers, mostly youngsters. Park Street alone accounted for more than 200 rowdies who were arrested for unruly behaviour -- the majority for molestation.
The biker gangs -- barring a small group from Bhowanipore -- were mostly from the fringe areas of east Kolkata. They vroomed from the narrow lanes and bylanes of Kidderpore, Topsia and Tiljala. Helmets? Don't ask for it. Most of the bikes carried three riders, in gross violation of the traffic rules. They tugged at girls on bikes and even groped those in cars.
They spared none. Even a woman reporter of a private channel, which was airing the Park Street scene live, fell prey to a gang of youths who surrounded her from all sides. The crowd swelled and the circle grew tighter around her.
Within minutes she was in tears. A police team had to be called in to rescue her. This was around 11.20 pm.
A little later, the gropers' sights fell on a bunch of girls sitting in three cars. The crowd pressure had forced the vehicles to move slowly. To the girls' horror, a group of leering miscreants poked their faces inside the cars. Hands followed. The girls screamed and tried to roll up the glass but failed. It was a horror they won't forget.
Like the previous years, the gangs waited around on their bikes. After identifying their target, they would zoom in and surround the girl or group of girls from all sides. Gradually, the circle would narrow down, pushing the victims to one side of the road. Then, it was a free for all. Most often, police could detect trouble only when a girl broke away from the gropers screaming and in tears.
It was so bad that restaurant owners started getting scared for their customers. "We asked them to be careful and avoid taking the road in case they were walking with women. This happens every year but it's getting worse. On New Year's Eve, I wouldn't come to Park Street with my family. How can I expect my patrons to take risk," asked Nitin Kothari, the owner of Mocambo and Peter Cat.
Another restaurateur claimed seeing scores of youngsters carrying liquor bottles in their pockets. "They were merrily drinking away and misbehaving with girls. It was terrifying and does not augur well for Park Street," he said.
Police claim to have made arrangement to counter the menace. "We took steps to stop such cases. Senior officers were on the streets. If people come forward with complaints we will take prompt action," said DC (headquarters) Vineet Goyal.
It's nation's shame !