Court asks eve teaser to sweep hospital floor

In a novel but justified punishment, a young software engineer in India was awarded a sentence of sweeping the premises of a government-run hospital for one month. The punishment was given by Justice B. Chandrakumar, an Andhra Pradesh High Court judge after M. Dinesh Kumar, the accused, was convicted of harassing two women. The convict, 21, is a software engineer working with Dell Computers. However, he is allowed to choose the hour according to his convenience. To ensure that the court order is complied with, the judge asked the superintendent of the hospital to maintain a register for Dinesh Kumar to mark his attendance daily. The court pronounced this verdict after it was convinced that the techie along with his friend Balarngasai riding a motorcycle in Malkajiri had pulled the dupattas (scarves) of the two girls on foot. The dupatta considered to be a cultural and sacred ornament for a woman in India obviously raised temperatures in the vicinity. While locals caught and beat up Balarangasai, Dinesh Kumar managed to escape. This was followed by a complaint by the girls' relative Venkatakrishna, who registered a police case against the two under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Kumar. The techie's plea for anticipatory bail was dismissed by the district court and he then approached the high court. The punishment will surely act as a deterrent against the rising crime against woman in the area.