A 39-year-old man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly molesting actor Zaira Wasim onboard a Delhi-Mumbai flight last night. Police said that the man has been identified as Vikash Sachdev. Deputy Commissioner of Police Anil Kumbhare said he will be produced in the court today.
Sachdev has been booked under section 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of IPC, and relevant sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) since the actor is a minor, Senior Police Inspector, Sahar, Lata Shirsat, said.
Earlier in the day, police had registered a case against an unknown person in connection with the incident. The Vistara Airlines had also apologised to Wasim for the incident and said it was carrying out a probe into it, while asserting that it has "zero tolerance" for such behaviour.
According to Zaira Wasim, she was on a Vistara flight last night from Delhi to Mumbai when a co-passenger sitting behind her put up his feet on her armrest. The "Dangal" actor had narrated her ordeal on Instagram via live video.
"So, I was in a flight travelling from Delhi to Mumbai today and right behind me one middle-aged man who made my two-hour journey miserable. I tried to record it on phone to understand it better because the cabin lights were dimmed, I failed to get it...," she said.
"The lights were dimmed, so it was even worse. It continued for another five to ten minutes and then I was sure of it. He kept nudging my shoulder and continued to move his foot up and down my back and neck," the Kashmiri teen, who shot to fame for her stellar performance in Aamir Khan's blockbuster "Dangal", said in the post.
In the video, which Wasim recorded immediately after deboarding the flight, the 17-year-old actor broke down several times.
"This is not done, I am disturbed... Is this how you're going to take care of girls? This is not the way anybody should be made to feel. This is terrible!" she said. "No one will help us if we don't decide to help ourselves. And this is the worst thing," she added.
Later, a woman police official was sent to the hotel in Mumbai where the actor is put up, to record her statement. Based on her statement, a case was registered at the Sahar police station against the unknown person under IPC section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, since the actor is a minor, Sahar's senior police inspector Lata Shirsat said.
