scorecardresearch
Friday, Mar 29, 2024
Advertisement

Gujarat: Deputy collector in Aravalli held for ‘harassing and stalking’ woman

Police said that the woman approached them only after the accused officer sent her indecent pictures to her minor son, leading to her falling into depression. She is under counselling, they added.

Gujarat: Deputy collector in Aravalli held for ‘harassing and stalking’ womanDeputy collector Mayank Patel

A deputy collector posted in Modasa of Aravalli was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly harassing and stalking a woman, also a state government employee who worked with him earlier.

According to police, the accused Mayank Patel (28), a Gujarat Administrative Services (GAS) officer, posted as deputy collector in Modasa Zilla Seva Sadan in Aravalli, was arrested on Tuesday by a team of Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch on a complaint by the woman.

Police said that in her complaint, the woman submitted a written complaint stating that the accused has been stalking, harassing and defaming her through phone and social media for the past one-and-a-half years.

Advertisement

Police said that the woman approached them only after the accused officer sent her indecent pictures to her minor son, leading to her falling into depression. She is under counselling, they added.

Mayank Patel, a native of Shihora village in Kapadvanj of Kheda district, also served as deputy mamlatdar in 2016 before he was selected through Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC) entrance examination in 2017.

Festive offer

Amit Vasava, deputy commissioner of police, Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Cell, said, “The complainant stated that when the accused was posted as deputy mamlatdar, she met him twice or thrice at official meetings. Later, Mayank Patel was posted as deputy collector in Modasa when he met the complainant again at meetings… Due to old acquaintance, they also visited each other’s house.”

It was during this time that the accused started harassing the woman and interfering in her work, police said, citing the complaint. “She claimed that if she declined his phone calls, he used to call and message on WhatsApp… The accused also would track her phone’s location and stalk her… If she declined his calls, he would call her husband and abuse him,” said Vasava.

Advertisement

“The accused also tried sending indecent pictures of the woman to her son and father-in-law to defame her. When the woman tried to speak to the accused’s parents and wife, he threatened to kill her. After an FIR was lodged against the official, using technical surveillance and investigation, we arrested the accused from his office on Tuesday,” he added.

Patel has been booked under Indian Penal Code section 500 for defamation, 354d for stalking, 506 for criminal intimidation and 509 for insulting the modesty of a woman along with sections of the Information Technology Amendment Act.

According to police, they have found incriminating evidences from the cell phone of the accused. “We have found evidence of threatening messages, indecent pictures, text messages, call history and chat history along with indecent pictures sent to her minor son, as alleged by the woman who went into depression,” Vasava said.

First uploaded on: 10-11-2021 at 09:48 IST
Latest Comment
Post Comment
Read Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
close