A 43-year-old Indian-origin man was awarded a jail term of nine months in the United Kingdom for masturbating in front of a woman on a London Underground train.
Identified as Mukesh Shah from Wembley in north London, the 43-year-old boarded the train at around 11.40 pm when the victim was travelling in an empty Piccadilly Line carriage between Sudbury Town and Acton Town.
He then sat diagonally opposite the woman, who noticed him staring at her before he exposed his genitals and started masturbating.
Shah’s indecent act was captured by the victim who later reported the incident to British Transport Police (BTP) along with that video.
“This was a frightening and upsetting experience for the victim and I commend her bravery in confronting the offender, managing to capture an image of Shah and reporting this,” said BTP Investigating Officer, Detective Constable Mark Luker.
“Shah’s disgusting actions have not only secured him time behind bars but restrictions following his release to prevent him from repeating his actions in the future. We will always take reports of sexual offences seriously and will do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice,” he said.
The British Transport Police (BTP) said that Shah will be subjected to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order over the incident, which took place on Nov 4, 2022.
“Despite the empty carriage, Shah sat diagonally opposite the victim and she noticed him staring at her, making her feel uncomfortable. It was then that she noticed he was exposing himself and masturbating,” BTP said in a statement.
“Bravely, the victim captured Shah on camera hoping it would deter him, when he didn’t, she confronted him and told him to stop and move away from her. He protested he hadn’t done anything wrong but moved along the carriage. The victim reported the incident to BTP along with the video, which was circulated within the police and led to the identification of Shah,” it added.
(With inputs from agencies)
