Lawyer booked for molesting woman on Bhopal court premises:Makes inappropriate advances towards her, holds her hand with malafide intentions; arrest pending

Safety of women is turning into a myth in MP’s capital Bhopal, as a 22-year-old female was allegedly molested by a man working as a lawyer on the premises of the Bhopal district court on Saturday, the police said. As per police, the woman had gone to the court to meet her advocate, when the incident unfolded. Woman a resident of Jehangirabad MP Nagar police station house officer (SHO) Jai Hind Sharma told Bhaskar English that the woman aged 22 is a resident of Bhopal’s Jehangirabad area. In the written complaint submitted to the police, the woman alleged that she had gone to the court at 10:30 am on Saturday to meet her advocate, Dhanraj Rajput, regarding discussions for an ongoing case. Another advocate approaches her, holds her hand with malafide intentions Furthermore, the woman said that her advocate had still not turned up at the court, and promised to come till 12:30. “Thus, I decided to wait on the premises of the court itself,” the woman added. She went on to say that while she was waiting, a man dressed as a lawyer approached her, and asked her if she had come to the court for court marriage. He then enquired about the woman’s address, and gave her his visiting card, which had his name, ‘Aslam Ali,’ written on it. He then began enquiring about the woman’s residential details, following which, she began seeking another place for her to sit. During this, Ali allegedly chased her and held her hand with malafide intentions. As per the woman’s allegations, he even touched her waist. Woman calls out for help, lawyers gather at the scene, approach police The woman screamed and called out for help, after which several lawyers gathered at the scene. The woman narrated her tale of woes to the lawyers present there, who then took her to the MP Nagar police station and helped her lodge a complaint. SHO Sharma confirmed on Saturday night that advocate Ali has been booked under Sections 74 and 78(1) of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS). He added that the accused is yet to be arrested.