HYDERABAD: The Banjara Hills police have booked an All India Services (AIS) officer on charges of sexual harassment after a woman AIS officer, living in his neighbourhood, accused him of using lewd language and gestures during a recent altercation. While the squabble, the complainant claimed, started over dog poop in the common area, it soon escalated, with the accused allegedly passing objectionable comments “in a vulgar tone”.Based on a complaint by the 33-year-old woman officer, cops registered a case under Sections 75 (sexual harassment), 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 324(4) (mischief), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the BNS against the male officer and began an investigation. He was also taken to the police station for questioning.
“We let him go after issuing a notice (requiring him to be available for further interrogation) since the maximum punishment under these sections is less than seven years. We will inform his head of department about the incident as well,” an official of Banjara Hills police said.In her complaint, the woman officer alleged that at around 6.40 pm on April 13, while she was at her quarters, she heard some commotion outside and went to the living room.What’s the dispute“I heard my neighbour abusing my staff and my dog. He kept opening and shutting his door, making a loud noise each time. He came out and said, ‘Bhabhi, come, let’s smoke a cigarette,’ in a vulgar tone and kept repeating it,” the complaint alleged. The 37-year-old male officer also, allegedly, damaged her flower pots.Cops said that the complainant recorded the entire incident — where he is seen repeatedly making sexually offensive remarks and obscene gestures — and handed it over to the police.“During questioning, the male officer said that he saw dog poop near his door and, since the complainant keeps a pet dog, suspected her of negligence,” said a police official, reiterating how the argument started. “When our team inspected the premises, they realised that there are a lot of stray dogs around the quarters that often poop in the common area. We are probing the matter further to ascertain why the male officer resorted to obscene behaviour,” the officer added.
