Naveeta Singh / Mumbai Mirror

• When a male colleague flung papers in her face and used filthy language, Sangita Khairnar, daughter of ex-deputy civic commissioner G R Khairnar, filed a police case against him

Mumbai, Jul 27: As the daughter of former deputy civic commissioner and ‘Demolition Man’ GR Khairnar, it’s a given that  39-year-old Sangita Khairnar would not stand for injustice, least of all at her workplace.

So it is not surprising that on Thursday July 26, Sangita, a superintendent (accounts) in the finance department of Indian Airlines (IA), filed a police complaint against her colleague Raju Borade at Sahar police station for misbehaving with her and using filthy language. Borade has now been charged under Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to outrage the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code.

What happened ?

According to sources in IA, around 4 pm on July 24, Sangita, who has been with IA for 12 years, was going through some official documents at her workstation.

“Suddenly, Borade walked into her section and without provocation, snatched the papers from her hands,” the source said. “He then began a tirade, asking Sangita what she thought of herself and also used some highly objectionable swear words,” the source added. He then allegedly tore the papers and flung them in her face.

“Sangita was stunned by this. But she had heard of Borade’s reputation of being abusive with women in the office and decided something had to be done,” the source said.

A furious Sangita immediately approached the general manager (GM) of her department as well as the women’s cell, for justice. “In the past, Borade has behaved similarly with other women, who had then complained to the GM. But no action had been taken,” the source added.

While  Sangita is a member of the Air Corporation Employees Union, Borade is a member of the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena (BKS).

After waiting two days for justice, Sangita and her colleagues took a morcha to the GM’s cabin on Thursday morning. “When the management told us that they would look into the matter, we felt it was a delaying tactic as they had been apprised of the issue two days ago,” the source said. Not willing to wait any longer, Sangita decided to do something about the matter herself and approached the Sahar police.

A police official said, “Yes, we have registered a case against Borade on the basis of a complaint received from Sangita Khairnar. He has been summoned for questioning at 11.30 am on Friday.”

Meanwhile, Borade denied that he had used abusive language against Sangita. “I am an educated man and on that day, there were at least 10 people around. I could not have used such language,” he added.

When Mumbai Mirror contacted IA for their version, a spokesperson said that it was an internal matter and investigations were on.