A woman from Bangalore, who was in Mumbai for her friend’s engagement party, has alleged that she was molested at 145 cafe and bar in Bandra West and the management took no action against the man at the time. Instead, she was asked to leave the pub, the 30-year-old digital illustrator said. The incident happened at the Pali Hill joint in Bandra West, on Saturday night and was captured on a CCTV camera. She posted the footage on Instagram the next day, seeking help to identify the man or his friends.

The incident

Speaking to mid-day, she said, “I was in Mumbai with my family to attend my friend’s engagement ceremony. After the ceremony, we went to 145 Bandra. We were dancing when a man, taking advantage of the crowd, moved close to me and groped me from behind.” “I caught his hand, turned around and slapped him. As I confronted him, a few of his friends apologised to me, but the others tried protecting him and asked me to calm down,” she added.

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No help from pub

“All this while, the management at 145 cafe and bar was missing. I informed a bouncer and demanded that he take action against the molester, but he didn’t. At first, we were asked to move away from the area and eventually told to leave, whereas his friends were allowed to stay,” she said. Before leaving, the woman said she asked the bouncer for the CCTV footage, which the management sent her the next day and offered an apology as well.

Help came too late

She said, “They offered to help me and I appreciate it. However, my problem is with the fact that the incident wasn’t dealt with any urgency or protocol on the day it happened. A place like 145 can’t get away with a wishy-washy approach to someone being groped.”

She did not inform the Mumbai police, as she had a flight back home in Bangalore early Sunday morning. “I have asked the cafe to find out his details, which I plan to send to the Mumbai police. I want the accused arrested,” she said, adding that she tagged the Mumbai police in the post on Tuesday.

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145 says

“We helped the woman and also provided CCTV footage. We are also trying to find the person through bill records. One team is working just on this and has been in touch with the woman. While it is an individual’s decision to file a police complaint, we have bouncers at the cafe for the safety of visitors,” the management of 145 told mid-day. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 9) Anil Paraskar said, “We are looking into this matter.”

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